CAMERA-ON-A-CHIP: TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER FROM SATURN TO YOUR CELL PHONE

The invention of the CMOS active pixel image sensor “camera-on-a-chip” at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Caltech and its subsequent development and commercialization via the spinoff company Photobit Corporation are discussed. The article traces the arc of the technology from innovation, technology transfer, and entrepreneurial startup to its use today in nearly all mobile phone cameras, tablet and web cameras, medical and automotive cameras, and many other applications.