Gigapixel image
Encyclopedia
A gigapixel image is a digital image
bitmap
composed of one billion (109) pixels (picture elements), 1000 times the information captured by a 1 megapixel digital camera
. Current technology for creating such very high-resolution
images usually involves either making mosaic
s of a large number of high-resolution digital photographs or using a film negative
as large as 12" × 9" (30 cm × 23 cm) up to 18" × 9" (46 cm × 23 cm), which is then scanned with a high-end large-format film scanner
with at least 3000 dpi resolution. As of 2011, only a few cameras are capable of creating a gigapixel image in a single sweep of a scene, such as the Pan-STARRS
PS1 and the Gigapxl Camera.
Gigapixel images may be of particular interest to the following:
Digital image
A digital image is a numeric representation of a two-dimensional image. Depending on whether or not the image resolution is fixed, it may be of vector or raster type...
bitmap
Bitmap
In computer graphics, a bitmap or pixmap is a type of memory organization or image file format used to store digital images. The term bitmap comes from the computer programming terminology, meaning just a map of bits, a spatially mapped array of bits. Now, along with pixmap, it commonly refers to...
composed of one billion (109) pixels (picture elements), 1000 times the information captured by a 1 megapixel digital camera
Digital camera
A digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor. It is the main device used in the field of digital photography...
. Current technology for creating such very high-resolution
Image resolution
Image resolution is an umbrella term that describes the detail an image holds. The term applies to raster digital images, film images, and other types of images. Higher resolution means more image detail....
images usually involves either making mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
s of a large number of high-resolution digital photographs or using a film negative
Negative (photography)
In photography, a negative may refer to three different things, although they are all related.-A negative:Film for 35 mm cameras comes in long narrow strips of chemical-coated plastic or cellulose acetate. As each image is captured by the camera onto the film strip, the film strip advances so that...
as large as 12" × 9" (30 cm × 23 cm) up to 18" × 9" (46 cm × 23 cm), which is then scanned with a high-end large-format film scanner
Film scanner
A film scanner is a device made for scanning photographic film directly into a computer without the use of any intermediate printmaking. It provides several benefits over using a flatbed scanner to scan in a print of any size: the photographer has direct control over cropping and aspect ratio from...
with at least 3000 dpi resolution. As of 2011, only a few cameras are capable of creating a gigapixel image in a single sweep of a scene, such as the Pan-STARRS
Pan-STARRS
The Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System is a planned array of astronomical cameras and telescopes and computing facility that will survey the sky on a continual basis, including accurate astrometry and photometry of detected objects...
PS1 and the Gigapxl Camera.
Gigapixel images may be of particular interest to the following:
- Artists
- Curators and art historians, to better study artworks
- Health care providers, such as pathologistsPathologyPathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....
, for virtual microscopyVirtual microscopyVirtual microscopy is a method of posting microscope images on, and transmitting them over, computer networks. This allows independent viewing of images by large numbers of people in diverse locations. It involves a synthesis of microscopy technologies and digita l technologies...
utilizing whole slide images (digitally scanned glass microscope slideMicroscope slideA microscope slide is a thin flat piece of glass, typically 75 by 25 mm and about 1 mm thick, used to hold objects for examination under a microscope. Typically the object is placed or secured on the slide, and then both are inserted together in the microscope for viewing...
s, also called virtual slides) - PhysicistsPhysicsPhysics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
viewing the results of supercomputerSupercomputerA supercomputer is a computer at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation.Supercomputers are used for highly calculation-intensive tasks such as problems including quantum physics, weather forecasting, climate research, molecular modeling A supercomputer is a...
simulationSimulationSimulation is the imitation of some real thing available, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviours of a selected physical or abstract system....
s - Viewers of satelliteSatelliteIn the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
composite images for various purposes, including agricultural policyAgricultural policyAgricultural policy describes a set of laws relating to domestic agriculture and imports of foreign agricultural products. Governments usually implement agricultural policies with the goal of achieving a specific outcome in the domestic agricultural product markets...
, land use planningLand use planningLand-use planning is the term used for a branch of public policy encompassing various disciplines which seek to order and regulate land use in an efficient and ethical way, thus preventing land-use conflicts. Governments use land-use planning to manage the development of land within their...
, and military intelligenceMilitary intelligenceMilitary intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions.... - Visual effects industry, where gigapixel images can enable the creation of immersive digital environments
See also
- GigaLinc - Immersive interaction with Gigapixel images
- Largest photographs in the worldLargest photographs in the worldMost of the photographs that are claimed to be the largest are stitched from smaller images. The Legacy Project photograph made in Irvine, California is an exception to this in that it was made as a single exposure on a seamless piece of sensitized fabric using a building as a huge...
- PowerwallPowerwallA powerwall is a large high-resolution display wall used for projecting large computer generated images. The size of a wall display can range in size from six to over forty feet in width and potentially even larger...
- Computer technology for interactive gigapixel displays - HD ViewHD ViewHD View is an image viewer to aid in the display of very large images. Advances in techniques for stitching digital images together has led to the creation of images of gigapixel size. Many of these images are panoramic or in full 360 degree fields of view...
- Microsoft's high resolution image viewer plug-in (Windows only - IE & Firefox) - GigapanGigapanGigaPan is a collaborative project between Carnegie Mellon University and NASA Ames Intelligent Systems Division's Robotics Group with support from Google...
- A Google/NASA/CMU spinout technology that includes a commercially available robotic imager, free stitcher, and web-based viewer - Gigapxl Project
- dgCam
- Microsoft Research Asia's gigapixel camera
External links
- Sevilla - 111 Gigapixels
- London - 80 Gigapixels
- Budapest - 70 Gigapixels
- Rio de Janeiro
- Vienna - 50 Gigapixel
- Marburg - 47 Gigapixels
- Dubai - 45 Gigapixels
- Saint-Raphaël- 41 Gigapixels - Gigapixel Tour (Guillaume Roumestan)
- Prague, indoor - 40 Gigapixels - Library in Strahov Monastery
- Paris - 26 Gigapixels
- Dresden - 26 Gigapixels
- Gpix - Dozens of Gigapixel images from Austria - up to 21 Gigapixels
- G. Roumestan - Gigapixels images of France (bigger is 20.9 Gigapixels)
- Prague - 18 Gigapixels
- Yosemite National Park (U.S.A - Californie) - 17 Gigapixels
- London, indoor - 15.5 Gigapixels - Cathedral Saint Paul
- Vancouver - 12 Gigapixels
- Vancouver Downtown - 10 Gigapixels
- Miraflores, Peru - 5 Gigapixels
- The desert oasis of Huacachina, Peru - 2 Gigapixels
- President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address, Washington - 1.5 Gigapixels
- Machu Picchu - 1.5 Gigapixels
- Feldkirch360.at - Big 1,2 Gigapixel Project
- Mexico - 0.5 Gigapixels - El Evento 40 Bicentenario - Big crowd
- San Francisco (2008) - 0.5 Gigapixels
- San Francisco after the earthquake of 1906 - 0.5 Gigapixels
- GigaPixel360 - Everything Gigapixel
- Gigapixel Panorama Photography
- The Gigapxl Project - A custom-built Gigapixel camera, by Graham Flinthttp://www.computerpoweruser.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles%2Farchive%2Fc0506%2F26c06%2F26c06.asphttp://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/colloquia/20050923.htm
- Tom Swift's New Camera, Ready for Space and Spies - about Clifford Ross, in the New York Times December 9, 2004.http://cliffordross.com/R1/gigapixel.html
- Querdenker Gigapixel - Gigapixel images with a wide motive range, also multiviewpoint Gigapixelhttp://www.querdenker-gigapixel.de/eng/Sonstiges-Multiviewpoint-Gigapixel.php