NEC shows off fluorescent light-powered wireless camera
By Donald Melanson 
posted Nov 30th 2007 4:29PM
posted Nov 30th 2007 4:29PM
It looks like those looking to put together a quick and easy surveillance system for spying on their employees could soon find their solution courtesy of NEC, which is set to debut a new security cam that draws all its power from a standard fluorescent light. But that's not all, the camera also boasts some built-in 802.11b WiFi capabilities to stream all that video (or, more specifically, an image every ten seconds) back to a PC, which can presumably be used to monitor dozens of these little all-seeing wonders. No word on a price or release date, but NEC will apparently have more to say about it at the iExpo2007 conference that gets underway in Tokyo on December 5th.
I wonder why i did not think of that.
They need to make one that is powered by the employees themselves. Just make that ring large enough to fit around their necks.
But when the employees get lazy and slack off the cameras would turn off. So you'd never catch them not working...
I don't care if anyone is working. I want to see who is stealing my potato chips damn it.
Very good twist on existing technologies.
So, for somebody to disable the security cameras, all they have to do is turn off the lights. Genious.
they would really be in trouble if the clapper was installed.
Einstein, the word is Genius.
Nothing a little rechargeable battery couldn't fix. Besides, why take images when there's not enough light for the camera?
Most CCD and CMOS cameras are sensitive to IR light which the human eye cannot see. A simple low power IR light emitting diode built in to the camera or separate IR illuminator(s)placed throughout the room, will easily sole the problem.
"or, more specifically, an image every ten seconds"
it only takes like 2 or 3 seconds to steal a bag of chips. that means the customers have like 7 seconds to spare.
they would really be in trouble if the clapper was installed.
Seems like a lot can happen in 10 seconds...
The problem for the crook is that you don’t know when the 10 second loop starts. Security cameras need a lot of bandwidth and storage to stream anything useable. So they instead take stills every so many seconds.
Like a mysterious large hole appearing in the pentagon you mean ;)
Soooo... it's okay to put your WiFi gear next to High Voltage florescent light ballasts now?
So, I guess they don't have "night vision" capability.
I'm thinking I would love this for a retrofit into the elevator (4 story) at my work... real simple installation.....
Only a matter of time before they can run on thermal energy or sound.
Wonder if they go so far as to remind you these won't work if there's a plastic difuser on your fixtures...
does this mean that it has a plug that it has a connector that allows it to plug into the same space that the fluorescent bulb plugs into, or does it run off of solar power provided from the fluorescent light?
I'm waiting for the zero-point energy powered version to come out. Finally I'll have what i'm looking for in a camera.
Look at the picture, That ring around the light bulbis what is grabbing the energy, Im not sure, but it might have be using induction, though im not too sure about how fluorescent lights work.
oh, wow, okay. I couldn't figure out how that was fitting there, I thought it was some weird box that stuck to the cover that goes over the light. I didn't realize it went around the light.
thanks for clearing that up.
Great! Now we get an annoying buzz and spied on...
Put the camera right under a light so the crook can easily spot it. Genious!
Congratulations! You're the second genius to misspell genius!
@ Rick:
Our light-powered cameras have detected a sense of humor failure in sector 7G. Clowns will be dispatched.
Congratulations! You are the second jerk to point out someone misspelled a word!
Too bad those pesky burglars use flashlights!!