by Dave Parrack

Its already possible to take aerial[航空的] shots using your smartphone， but doing so means throwing your expensive phone into the air and hoping youre a good catch. Whats really needed is a standalone[单独的] device that can be launched[投掷] skywards[向天空地] to capture[拍摄] panoramic[全景的] views. Enter Squito， a prototype[原型] throwable camera ball capable of producing stabilized[稳定的] 360-degree images and video that could prove useful in several different fields.

Squito is the work of Boston-based inventor Steve Hollinger， founder of S. H. Pierce & Co.， a manufacturer and licensor[认可证颁发者] of high-technology and consumer[消费者] products founded in 1989. Hollinger was recently awarded[授予] a second patent[专利权] related to throwable camera technology. His first was filed in 2010 and referred to “a throwable ball-shaped camera that utilizes[利用] position and orientation[定位] sensors[传感器] to capture and process images over the course of its airborne trajectory[空中传播轨迹].”

The new patent adds more detail to the first， with a description of how photos can be captured， re-oriented and stitched[缝合] into a panorama[全景照片]， and covering the stabilization[稳定性] of video， making a camera capable of registering[对准的] frames[帧数] captured in sequence[顺次].

The throwable camera imagined and now prototyped by Hollinger is the size of a tennis ball， and employs three cameras， an inertial[惯性的] measurement unit （IMU）， a microcontroller， and an image processor to pull off[完成，实现] its impressive feat[技艺] of capturing images along its airborne trajectories. All images and video are transmitted[传输] wirelessly[无线地] to the users computer， tablet， or smartphone.

According to Hollinger， possible future uses for the Squito include professional sports， architecture[建筑]， reconnaissance[侦察，搜索]， search-and-rescue， first responder scene assessment[评估]， landscape photography， full spherical[球状的] capture for simultaneous[同时发生的] localization[定位] and mapping （SLAM）， and 3D mapping applications.

Weve seen a throwable ball camera previously[以前] on Gizmag注， with a team of graduates from the Technical University of Berlin having produced a working prototype that contained 36 tiny[微小的] cameras. While that would take one panoramic photograph at the top of the balls trajectory， Hollingers Squito is capable of taking photos continuously[连续地] throughout the throw.

用智能手机拍出空中照片已经成为可能，但这样做意味着你得把昂贵的电话机抛向空中而且必须眼明手快接得回来。我们真正需要的其实是一台可投掷到空中捕捉全景照片的独立装置。介绍一下Squito吧，这一球状可抛掷相机的产品原型能拍摄稳定清晰的360度全景照片和视频，对若干不同领域可能都颇有助益。

Squito由居住在（美国）波士顿的发明家史蒂夫·霍林格发明，他于1989年创立了S. H. Pierce & Co.公司，该公司是高科技消费产品的制造商及品牌授权商。最近，霍林格又获得了与抛掷型相机科技相关的另一项专利。他在2010年申请获批的第一项专利是“利用定位定向感测器在空中随运动轨迹捕捉和处理影像的可抛掷球形相机”。

新专利在前者的基础上增加了更多细节，描述了照片捕捉、转向及拼接成全景照的方式，还包含了视频稳像技术，令相机具备准确多帧连拍功能。

（以往）只在大家幻想中的可抛掷相机如今被霍林格打造成一个网球大小的产品原型。它内置有三部相机、一组惯性测量元件（IMU）、一个微控制器、一个影像处理器，随着空中运动轨迹捕捉影像的绝技便是靠这些元件合作完成。所有照片和视频可通过无线方式传送至用户的计算机、平板电脑或智能手机。

据霍林格介绍，Squito未来的可能用途包括专业运动、建筑、军事侦察、搜救、先遣急救员现场评估、自然风景摄影、全方位影像捕捉作同步定位地图绘制（SLAM）以及三维地图应用程序。

我们之前曾在Gizmag网站看到过一款可抛掷球体相机，是由柏林科技大学一组研究生研发出来的自带36台微型相机的可操作原型。然而这款相机只能在球体上抛至最高点时拍摄一张全景照片，霍林格的Squito则可以在整个抛掷过程中连续拍摄。