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Android as OS for camera
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Android on a mainstream digital camera? Yes, you could live to see the day. We're at Samsung's Korean headquarters this week, where we had an opportunity to sit down with the company's research and development team to talk about the past, present and future of digital imaging. One interesting bit of discussion: Samsung is considering an "open" camera operating system. It's still early days and nothing is confirmed but, given the company's support for Android on other platforms, that OS would be a logical choice. What we know is that Samsung R&D has been researching bringing Android to its digital cameras -- a move that would be far from shocking, considering that development teams do tend to collaborate, and the company clearly has experience with the Google OS. And while there are likely to be such open OS prototypes buried deep within Sammy HQ, they're mere experiments at this point -- at least from a production perspective.

    Via: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/14/samsung-researching-android-based-digital-camera/

    Btw, Android is awful OS for camera. Same as iOS.
    Camera OS must be based on existing realtime OS solutions, and have completely different API structure compared to common smartphone OS.

  • 7 Replies sorted by
  • RobertoRoberto

    The Android OS still speculative at present, according to the article, but the choice of Android over a light Linux OS would imply, yes, 3rd party apps and the ability of a camera to become another marketing platform. Some users might presently be expecting their cameras to act more like phones anyway.

  • thepalaliasthepalalias

    @Roberto So your camera would call you when it's done taking the pictures? ;)

  • duartixduartix

    Best news of the decade.

    I'd kill for an OpenOS CSC. No established manufacturer is going that way so even Android is welcome! Damn, they should just make a striped down CameraDroid, pull out the shit that draws power and CPU and come up with a fix for instant boot time. After that, and as long as there is an open API, I'll be launching rockets!!!

  • LPowellLPowell

    If the experience I had with last year's Samsung Captivate smartphone is any guide, an Android-based camera would feel like trying to shoot video with a web browser.

  • duartixduartix

    I see lot's of stuff as long as they give me the means...

    • Automatic HDR bracketing. A smart script detects the needed DR and bracketing range and executes it.
    • Automatic Focus bracketing on macro. A smart script detects the needed Focus bracketing range and executes it.
    • Fast photography. Lightning, very fast motion, wild life, surveillance, etc. A smart script detects a sudden change in exposure/content and reacts instantly by taking a photo.
    • Timelapse photography. Unlimited flexibility without any extra hardware.
    • Multiple camera setup. Several cameras communicate to take different views of a photo at the same time.
    • Sound activated photography. A smart script takes a photo when I say "NOW!, when a baloon pops, when an object drops, when 2 cars crash.
    • Speech recognition. The camera is programmed to respond to voice commands. No more dwelling into 5 menus and pressing 10 buttons to switch ETC/IS on/off.

    I could go on forever... I'm not saying we should change the way we use the camera, but any of the things I mentioned would allow me to take pictures that right now would be very difficult for me without extra hardware and work.

  • RobertoRoberto

    @LPowell

    Yes, we can say goodbye to speed and say hello to a feature-rich camera with a spongy feel, virtual machine, software stack, libraries and we suddenly need a faster processor.

    Experience shows that consumers happily choose features over speed.

  • LucasAdamsonLucasAdamson

    Spare me an Android camera. Sure it might also play games, but in place of versatility, I would rather dedication.

    Give me a dedicated video camera with controls for each useful/ necessary function every day.

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