AI’s the big buzz these days, particularly generative AI. We just can’t get enough of those computer-generated images. We’ve seen a few cameras taking advantage of generative AI before now, but this one is certainly the weirdest.
This is probably one of the oddest and most interesting AI-powered cameras I’ve seen. It’s a shame that it doesn’t actually exist, really. It’s a concept camera, the co-creation of creative technology agency SpecialGuestX and mixed-media production company 1stAveMachine.
CMR-M1 – It really is a camera, but it uses generative AI
It really is a camera. It meets all of the requirements of a camera. It has a lens to focus light and create an image on a plane. It has something to capture that light and record it. It also has a light-tight enclosure connecting the two. This is the essence of pretty much any camera since the dawn of photography.
But the CMR-M1 adds to this definition with generative AI. From looking at the video above, the idea seems to be quite simple. You have a dial on the camera that allows you yo ramp up the generative AI effect. This effect is then increased in intensity and, apparently, rendered in real-time as you’re recording.
How does it work?
The CMR M-1 is a fairly low spec camera. It features a small Front Looking Infrared (FLIR) camera and sports a low 1,368×768 resolution. It only puts out 12 frames a second, too. This would be great if it were a still camera, but it’s not, it’s a video camera.
It uses Stable Diffusion to overcome the limitations of of the resolution and frame rates in order to produce higher quality footage over the cloud. At least, that’s the idea. The camera only exists in prototype form at the moment, and they haven’t said how complete it is in terms of functionality.
No mass market release of the CMR M-1 is planned. But if the ideas it demonstrates are possible, it’s certainly an interesting idea. It might let you breathe some new life into old, obsolete cameras that can’t keep up with today’s latest and greatest.
[via CineD]
