For cellphones equipped with cameras, the light-capturing sensor chip is a matrix of 1, 000-by-1, 000 pixels or more.
That's the case with StickNFind - circular stickers the size of a few 10p pieces stuck together which contain a Bluetooth chip, temperature sensor and battery.
With a smaller image sensor, a lens designed for a 35mm camera captures only the inner part of the image, cropping off the edges that the sub-size sensor chip can't see.
Cells are lined up like ants and passed one-by-one through a tiny fluid channel one-fourth the width of a human hair, and a digital camera sensor chip captures images of the cells as they pass over an array of nanoscale holes.
Cells are lined up like ants and passed one by one through a tiny fluid channel one-fourth the width of a human hair, and a digital camera sensor chip captures images of the cells as they pass over an array of nanoscale holes.
That might be about to change, though, as South Korea's state-owned Korea Electronics Technology Institute has announced a new image sensor chip that promises to take "vibrant photos" in extreme low-light conditions -- all the way down to 1 lux, which is the equivalent light output of a candle shining one meter away.
ENGADGET: South Korean image-sensing chip enables 1-lux photography
While competing solutions require either two sensors or multiple chips to support pen and multi-touch, N-trig is the first company to offer both on a single chip and a single sensor, providing device manufacturers with a compact, low-power solution and paving the way for N-trig to enter the handheld market.
The sensor's imaging chip picks up the dark string immediately, even if only 1 femtogram (one-quadrillionth of a gram) of TNT is stuck to it.
Accommodating a 35mm sensor, the same chip that ships in Sony's a99 DSLR, in such a small housing meant going with a fixed 35mm lens.
ENGADGET: IRL: Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 and the full-frame RX1
It was an engineering feat to design such an ultra-low-power device considering that the ear produces just 70 to 100 millivolts not even enough juice to power a conventional electronic circuit like a sensor or Wi-Fi chip.
Our PSoC products are well suited for Bluetooth low energy applications in this market, as their programmable analog and digital peripherals can interface with almost any sensor to provide integrated one-chip solutions to our customers.
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The headsets contain a sensor that detects various mental states, and a chip converts the signals from analog format to digital so they can travel wirelessly to a computer.
Outside of the 10.1-inch screen, it's sporting its own 1.5GHz dual-core chip and 1.9-megapixel front camera as well as a 5-megapixel rear sensor, HDMI video out and USB.
Among its innovations: a sensor that warns firefighters of an impending building collapse, lighter breathing apparatus and a computer chip that monitors firefighters' vital signs inside a burning building.
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