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- COMPUTER EYES REVIEW
-
- (Editor's Note: The uses of micro-
- computers get ever more sophisticated
- as we learn better how to use them.
- (Some of the fastest advances
- currently are coming in the area of
- computer graphics--specifically in
- the use of digitizers.
- (A digitizer's sole purpose is to
- convert visual images into a computer
- picture. What is done with that
- picture depends on the applications
- in question and on the imagination of
- the user.
- (Industrial and scientific users
- usually lean toward pattern recog-
- nition applications, for example, a
- captured image is compared bit for
- bit against a 'control' image to see
- whether or not anything has changed
- or is different. One aspect of
- robotics research centers around
- providing robots with 'sight' through
- image digitizing.
- (Business users might use a digi-
- tizer to capture images of charts,
- graphs, and other graphic data for
- use in computer presentations.
- (The computer artist can create the
- rough sketch of a picture on paper
- and then digitize that image into the
- computer medium. A few computer game
- writers have used digitizers to
- capture images for use in graphic
- adventures and arcade games.
- (The number of uses for a computer
- digitizer seems to be limited only by
- the user's imagination.
- (Because the state-of-the-art in
- this area is a 'moving target', we
- asked Joel Ellis Rea to examine one
- currently popular digitizing system.
- His report, and a special surprise
- for Loadstar subscribers, follows.)
-
-
- COMPUTEREYES
- ============
-
- Reviewed by: Joel Ellis Rea
-
-
- ComputerEyes is an inexpensive
- digitizer available for the Apple,
- Atari, IBM PC, and the Commodore 64
- and 128 computers. All versions are
- available for about $400, including
- a B&W camera and all the hardware and
- software necessary to digitize video
- signals into the computer's high-
- resolution bit-mapped graphics
- screen.
-
- The working hardware consists of a
- simple-looking black box that has
- two adjustment knobs (Sync and
- Brightness) and one jack (Video In).
- No interface board is needed, because
- the box plugs right into the User
- port.
-
- A single video scan takes about
- five seconds. This makes ComputerEyes
- unsuitable for applications where
- real-time frame-grabbing is required
- (say, as part of an alarm system);
- but, for general purposes,
- ComputerEyes is more than adequate.
-
- ComputerEyes will use the video
- signal from any composite video
- source, including a VCR, any video
- camera, or even another computer.
- (That's one way to get an Apple II
- picture into your C-64.) Of course,
- the captured image must be still
- for the digitized image to be
- recognizable.
- HAL Systems, distributor of the
- product, sells Panasonic and Ikegami
- B&W cameras interchangeably for use
- with the system. I tested it with a
- Panasonic camera that performed
- surprisingly well in average lighting
- conditions and can focus on objects
- as near as six inches from the lens.
-
- The software is easy to use.
- Simply type LOAD":*",8 then RUN to
- run the main driver program. The
- menu has the following choices:
-
- (A)djust Sync (H)elp
- (B)rightness
- (N)ormal Scan (C)atalog
- (4)-Level Scan (S)ave Picture
- (8)-Level Scan (L)oad Picture
- (V)iew Current Image (D)emo
-
- The software is user-friendly,
- and the Help screens are a nice
- supplement to the brief but excellent
- manuals. In fact, they are the most
- informative manuals I have seen for a
- digitizer, even the more expensive
- frame-grabbers.
-
- A switch-box included with the
- system allows you to view the camera
- output directly on your monitor, then
- switch to the computer's display,
- enabling you to frame and focus the
- desired image before you scan.
-
- This is an added feature that is
- provided by HAL Systems. The switch-
- box is valued at about $20.00 and
- would not ordinarily be included with
- the system.
-
- The Adjust Sync option tells you if
- ComputerEyes is in sync with your
- computer's video. If not, it
- actually tells you which way to turn
- the Sync knob until it is in sync.
-
- A (N)ormal scan reads the video
- signal, and sets as white every pixel
- brighter than a certain threshold (set
- with the Brightness knob -- a little
- adjustment goes a long way!), and as
- black every pixel dimmer than that
- threshold. See the "Louisiana Bones"
- picture on this disk for an example
- of a Normal scan of a black-and-
- white sketch.
-
- A (4)-level scan reads the screen
- 4 times, each at a higher threshold,
- thus getting a "map" of 4 grey-levels.
- Since the Commodore Hi-res graphics
- screen is incapable of true grey
- scales, after the 4th scan the 4
- samples are merged (dithered) into
- pseudo grey-scaling, using different
- dot densities at the expense of
- resolution. This process takes 4
- times as long as a Normal scan.
-
- An 8-level scan is similar to a
- 4-level, except 8 scans are made,
- with the successive thresholds closer
- together. More grey-scale means
- less resolution than 4-level or (of
- course) Normal scan. It takes twice
- as long as 4-level, or 8 times as
- long as Normal.
- The result of an 8-level scan is
- shown on this disk in the picture
- called "Commodore&Penny". This
- picture shows how closely the
- Panasonic camera can focus on an
- object. Good macro capabilities!
-
- You can SAVE a picture in either a
- Normal or space-saving Packed format.
- Since color is not used, the color
- nybbles and color bytes aren't saved.
- You can LOAD either a normal or Packed
- picture. ComputerEyes will only
- reference Drive 0 of Unit 8 with the
- disk commands.
-
- In addition to the menu program,
- special routines are included that can
- be used from within a user program.
- You can do anything from your own
- programs you could do from the menu,
- including 1, 4 or 8-level scans,
- Packed picture SAVEs and LOADs, Sync
- adjustments, etc. Note: The
- ComputerEyes hardware is NOT
- necessary to view a picture created
- with ComputerEyes.
-
- Registered users can obtain special
- versions of the system software for
- only $15 each, including a Doodle
- version (allows digitized images to
- be saved as Doodle pictures so that
- they can be edited & colored with
- Doodle), a Flexi-Draw version and a
- Koala version, a Print Shop version
- (allows Print-Shop Graphics to be
- made from digitized images). Note
- that the ComputerEyes software in and
- of itself provides no means to send
- images to a printer. You must have
- another program or printer interface
- that can print graphics images.
-
- All in all, ComputerEyes is a quite
- worthy product which fills the needs
- it was intended for. It provides
- video digitizing capability to the
- small-computer user at a small-compu-
- ter price. For about what you would
- spend on a good printer, you can
- experiment with this popular aspect
- of computing!
-
- The modules that make up Computer-
- Eyes are available separately. You
- can get the ComputerEyes Digitizer and
- standard software without the camera
- for $149. The Panasonic and Ikegami
- cameras each retail for $249.
-
- ComputerEyes also works with the
- "UnderWare" Iron-On ribbons for Epson,
- Okidata and Star Micronics printers.
- That product prepares pictures for
- transfer to T-shirts, etc. UnderWare
- accessories include sets of 5 or 7
- Iron-On color pens for coloring a
- digitized image and an Iron-On
- Coloring Kit which contains 20 sheets
- of transfer paper and 5 pens.
-
- Digital Vision, the manufacturer of
- ComputerEyes, provides a demo that
- shows most of the capabilities of the
- system and gives ideas for some
- interesting applications.
-
- Some less obvious applications
- include fundraising (by digitizing
- pictures of people), taking "photos"
- for inclusion in a computer-printed
- newsletter, education (teaching such
- topics as Video Image Processing, Art
- Appreciation, A/D and D/A, Law
- Enforcement, Robotics, Physics,
- Optics, Photography, Interfacing and
- Telemetry, etc.), small-scale security
- systems (comparing two successive
- scans of an area for large differences
- which would indicate motion, such as
- an intruder), etc.
- I think Digital Vision has a real
- winner here!
-
- ======================================
-
- That's what Joel Ellis Rea has to
- say about ComputerEyes. Kind of makes
- you itch for one yourself, doesn't
- it? It made us want one, so we went
- to the trouble of calling HAL
- Systems, the distributor, and asking
- if we could get a deal.
- Not only can we get a deal, but HAL
- Systems is willing to extend the deal
- to all Loadstar subscribers. Here's
- the special pricing:
-
- Retail Your
- Price Price
-
- C-64 Black Box with
- special $20 switch- $149 $119
- box, hookup cable,
- and standard software
-
- Custom Interface
- Software (specify
- Print Shop, Doodle,
- or Koala) $ 15 $ 11
-
- B/W Panasonic or
- Ikegami camera $249 $139
-
- (New Jersey residents add 6% sales
- tax)
-
- That's right. You can save more
- than $100 on a complete system
- because you are a Loadstar
- subscriber.
- Here's what you do:
- Print out the order form, fill it
- in, and mail it to this address:
- HAL Systems
- P.O. Box 293
- Scotch Plains, NJ 07076
- Your order will be shipped promptly.
- Or, if you can't wait:
- Call 1-800-523-2445, extension 48
- and ask for the special LOADSTAR
- offer. Have your Visa or MasterCard
- ready and you'll be able to speed up
- your order.
- (Residents of Pennsylvania call
- 1-800-346-7511, extension 48)
-
- ---------< end of article >-----------
-