GPS unit embedded in camera encodes location/time/date info when you take a snap. Embedded compass would also show what direction the camera was pointing (could also be done with 2 GPS receivers. 3 receivers would give precise 3D orientation of camera.) The information is encoded on the negative using some suitable technique, whence it may be retrieved by appropriate equipment.
-- Mickey the Fish, Jul 07 2000

Truth videocam http://www.halfbake...idea/Truth-videocam
Another GPS-videocamera idea [bookworm, Jul 07 2000]

Ifaistos http://www.digital-opsis.com
Well the device exists for sometime now. Connects to Kodak DC26x and DC290 models. Soon there will be support for Nikon Coolpix models also [Ifaistos, May 13 2002]

Predator (for Grog) http://www.army-tec...m/projects/predator
Grog, linking will not work from annotations. You need to use this link area. [yamahito, Sep 17 2002, last modified Oct 21 2004]

GeoSnapper http://www.geosnapper.com/
Using this site would really be easier with a GPS enabled camera. It has some information on how to use a camera and GPS together. [offsky, Oct 21 2004]

Ricoh GPS compatible RDC-i700 G http://www.dpreview...22601ricohi700g.asp
Compact digital camera with GPS support ( Compact Flash ) [kalkavan, Oct 21 2004]

Surveylab's IKE - ike knows everything http://www.surveylab.co.nz/
This device "ike" does this. Incorporates digital camera, GPS, Laser Distance Meter, Compass, Inclinometer to calculate the position of the target, and then add additional info via a Pocket PC 2003 interface. Totally integrated unit! [mozzie_mike, Oct 21 2004]

Mappr http://www.mappr.co...pr.phtml?tag=bakery
Would make posting here easier. [Worldgineer, Jul 27 2005]

a map, for flickr http://www.flickrmap.com
where you can gps tag your photos using GoogleEarth [neilp, Feb 05 2006]

Red hen systems makes a device that records gps onto the audio track of a camcorder right thru the mic input. Then a GIS application "maps" out the locations from which video was shot allowing random access to video segments from a geographical interface. Neet little toy, but the owner of the company is not a nice person, so don't buy one.

Another great invention still looking for a market, the people who could really use such a device, wildlife biologists, realators, etc. are generally not intellegent enoutgh to operate it.
-- sutheric, Dec 09 2000


A company called Pictometry has a system that uses GPS and a digital camera. Generally used for aerial surveying. Unique thing is that you can load the image in their software and pick out any point in the image and find out what the coordinates are for that point! (not just the location of the camera.) Was featured in Advanced Imaging magazine a few years ago.
-- tscislaw, Jun 10 2001


Neat idea. But... how big do you see this camera being? Last time i looked GPS was accurate to about a meter. To accurately guage the actual camera orientation, you would need not accuracy not just to the length of the camera, but to a small enough fraction of their difference in each dimension. That means millimetres or less.

The 3D camera position could, however, be recorded by other means - an old fasioned compass for direction, and some system of gyros for the orientation.
-- sadie, May 14 2002


Baked, many times over, just not for civilians...

Predator <admin - link moved to link section> takes video from on-board video camera. A display in a on-ground command post shows 1) plane's lat/long location and 2) the lat/long point that the camera's aiming at. The operator can zoom it and out on the live video (not just snapshots) and pan/tilt. As the camera sways, the target's lat/long location is updated on-screen on-the-fly. Beautiful for 1) looking at where the bad guy's tanks are, and 2) killin' em. (or seeing if a bomb killed 'em earlier)...

P.S. to Admin; thanks for the link move - I had a case of newbie dumbness.
-- Grog, Sep 17 2002


Advanced imaging coupled with position awareness is facilitating incredible tools for military recon.; surveying; virtual tours and a bucketload of unimagined uses... I like the fact that I can use the Red Hen software to couple off the shelf GPS, cameras, and camcorders and create maps with images. I can't wait to mount a device on my head/backpack while {mtnbiking, teleskiing, hiking, fishing, *ing} that creates a map/video of the adventure... Anyone for immersive video?
-- mtnskiier, Oct 23 2002


For me this idea needn't be quite so sophisticated. Just knowing where the picture was taken to within 50m or so would be useful. Stop all those family arguments when digging out old holiday snaps.
'That was a lovely time we had in Lanzarotte'
'No, that's Benidorm'
'It's definitely Rhyll'
etc. etc...
Now just fire up Encarta and settle the argument.
-- Gordon Comstock, Oct 23 2002


//Another great invention still looking for a market, the people who could really use such a device, wildlife biologists, realators, etc. are generally not intellegent enoutgh to operate it.//

This quote is "enoutgh" to insult the "intellegence" of even a "realator."

"Neetness" counts.
-- bulgy bear, Oct 23 2002


At past I thought about a camera which can write GPS coordinates on the negative just like the date. With the digital revolution it becomes easier. Recording of the coordinate in the picture file, makes it available to search a photo by location in a big archive. I made a small search on the net. All the products I found were big and useless for a home consumer. I saw a GPS receiver in a watch. They became smaller everyday. Why there isn't a compact one? The best I can find is :

Ricoh GPS compatible RDC-i700 G

GPS function is not from the machine its from the Compact Flash card. Isn't it wierd? Why don't they integrate it into the machine and make it look bigger. You can see the picture in the link.

[kalvakan] ???
-- kalkavan, Sep 25 2003


One application for this would be for annotating driving directions (e.g. turn right at this intersection). Once a sufficient database of location and direction-tagged images were amassed, a mapping web site could add photos of each turn site so that the driver could recogonize the turn by noticing matching landmarks.
-- dkawaii, Aug 02 2004


To gauge the orientation, you need nothing more sophisticated than a flux gate compass and a pair of accelerometers.
-- Freefall, Jul 27 2005


The ultimate is not just having location and orientation from the GPS - but also the camera specifications (focal length and sensor specs), and time/date of course. Someday - when all this becomes accurate enough, it will enable photos from various sources to be combined to make 3D images. Add to this a GoogleEarth-like website for cataloging and searching photos that people are willing to share. Add to this a LOT of time. Detailed changes over time of scenery, buildings, vegetation ... could be observed - Time machine-like.
-- wat-zat, Feb 05 2006


[wat-zat], my camera (almost all digital cameras) already stores camera make/model focal length/exposure time directly into the EXIF information in the JPEG file. Yours probably does too.

Check out flickrmap (link) for a simple way of using google earth to 'place' your photos onto a publically accessible world map (via flickr.com).
-- neilp, Feb 05 2006


What about a camera/GPS with a high speed (3G) connection.

The application here could be that the camera recognizes terrain, buildings, landmarks that it is pointed at and can call up information on those items (in various languages, maybe through Wikipedia). Could be community driven. Could be like a universal, multilingual tour guide.

Basically, the recognition would be driven by a combination of the GPS coordinates and the image... to provide some context to simplify any kind of shape or object recognition that might have to take place.
-- Mister P, Feb 22 2008



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