How Robots See in 3D: Vision Cameras, vSLAM and ToF

Posted on November 12, 2026November 12, 2026 by IE Contributor

A robot vacuum that remembers your floor plan, a phone that measures a room, a warehouse robot that weaves around pallets: they lean on some mix of the same three building blocks. A computer vision camera sees the scene, visual SLAM (vSLAM) works out where the device is and builds a map, and a time-of-flight (ToF) sensor measures how far away everything is. This guide explains each one in detail, how they fit together, and where you'll find them today. 1. The computer vision camera: turning ...

Tamper-Resistant Pill Dispenser

Posted on December 26, 2015 by

The Johns Hopkins students’ tamper-resistant pill dispenser prototype features a fingerprint scanner, at left, which verifies the patient’s identity and then releases, at right, the correct dosage only within the prescribed time frame. You can whack it with a hammer, attack it with a drill, or even stab it with a screwdriver. Try as you might, you won’t be able to tamper with a high-tech pill dispenser. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have estimated that drug overdoses kill m...

Israeli Mini-Scanner Can Tell The Difference Between Food, Drink or Pills

Posted on September 29, 2015 by

An Israeli start-up has launched a pocket device which analyses instantly the composition of food, drink, medication or other objects. It is the first molecular sensor that fits in the palm of your hand. The process it uses is simple. Its SCiO tool sends data on the chemical makeup of a substance to the user's smartphone, where a variety of applications will present the results. The SCiO does not need physical contact with the substance being tested because it uses a beam of light in wh...

PalmSecure For Individual Vein Pattern Recognition

Posted on September 13, 2015 by

An innovative biometric identification and security device works without any contact to scanner. The latest technology from PalmSecure™ is a leading-edge authentication system using biometric technology that uses vein pattern recognition. As organizations search for more secure authentication methods for data access, physical access and general security, many are turning to biometrics. Biometrics is gaining attention as a reliable, highly accurate and efficient method of confirming a pe...