Sharp claims mobile 3D, HD cam 'first'

Sharp has claimed an industry first: a wee camera module capable of grabbing stereoscopic 3D images at 1280 x 720p HD resolution. The best bit: it's for mobile phones.

We say phones, but they'd be fairly chunky ones. The Sharp 3D module is small, but not as compact as a regular phone camera.

Sharp didn't provide much in the way of technical details, but it did say that the module contains two cameras plus the electronics needed to unify the colour palette, brightness and contrast of the left- and right-eye images they produce.

How much this technology will cost to add to a digital camera or a smartphone remains to be seen, but we should find out when Sharp begins mass-producing the module later this year.

Engineering samples - essential for prototyping shipping products - will be made available to camera and phone makers in July. ®