• The Bigshot Project

    Bigshot was created by Shree Nayar at the Computer Vision Laboratory at Columbia University.  Some of his early sketches can be found in the Design section.  He worked with a group of contractors to flesh out his initial design and build the first set of working prototypes.   He also worked with a group of gifted undergraduate and graduate students at Columbia to develop the online educational materials, design the Bigshot website, and conduct the field tests.   In this section, we introduce all those who help turn Bigshot into a reality.

    		 Shree Nayar

  • Optics and Optomechanics

    The optics of the lens wheel and the viewfinder were designed using Zemax software by Malcolm MacFarlane.  All the optical elements were fabricated using diamond turning by Lightwave Enterprises.   The mechanical assembly of the imaging lens and the lens wheel modules were done by Alex Zaltz at Omex Technologies.   Sergey Trubko coordinated the prototyping of all the optical elements.  The idea of using a prism to capture a stereo image was proposed by D-J. Kang, I. S. Kweon and R. Cippola in 1999.  Guru Krishnan at Columbia performed the experimental evaluation of the optical modules.
    Omex Technologies
    Lightwave Enterprises

  • Electronics and Firmware

    The electronics of Bigshot was designed and prototyped by Mikhail Fridberg and Vivek Sikri of Satch Consulting.   Satch provided valuable advice with respect to several aspects of the project.   The camera’s firmware was implemented by HCL, Noida and modified by Mikhail Fridberg of Satch and An Tran at Columbia University.   We are grateful to Kartik Venkataraman and Aman Jabbi of Pelican Imaging for helping us choose the right image sensor for Bigshot and Gennadiy Agranov of Aptina Imaging for providing samples of the sensor for our prototypes.
    Satch Consulting
    Aptina Imaging

  • Industrial Design and Prototyping

    The initial sketches of Bigshot were turned into a detailed mechanical model by Ben Lippitt, Bob Faranda, and Steve Venditti at Datum3D.  This model went through several revisions and a few mock-ups were built along the way.  Datum3D also provided feedback with respect to the aesthetics of the camera – colors, finish, and print work.  Datum3D and Satch Consulting contributed to the physical layout of the circuit boards and the power generator.  The injection molded components of the prototypes were fabricated by Protomold and the machined parts were made by Datum3D.
    Datum3D
    Protomold

  • Website and Software

    Guru Krishnan led a talented group of students at Columbia to develop the Bigshot website and its content.  The descriptions of the various components of the camera and the interactive demonstrations were done by Guru Krishnan, An Tran, Brian Smith, Joseph Lin, Priyamvad Deshmukh, and Sean Hernandez.   James Phillips contributed to the graphic design of the website and produced its accompanying illustrations. Skye MacLeod helped create videos related to the project. The implementation of the website was done by Mengu Sukan and Brian Smith.   Guru Krishnan also developed PC software for downloading and processing Bigshot’s images.
    Guru Guru
    An An
    Brian Brian
    Joseph Joseph
    Priyamvad Priyamvad
    Sean Sean
    Mengu Mengu
    James James
    Skye Skye

  • The Facilitators

    Anne Fleming skillfully managed the financial aspects of the Bigshot project.  We thank Evelyn Roman-Lazen and Lisbeth Uribe for facilitating the pilot tests in New York City, B. R. Sheshadri Iyengar for organizing the tests in Bengaluru, and Vu Thi My and Nguyen Thi My Dung for coordinating the tests in Vung Tau.  Jack McGourty of Columbia’s School of Engineering and Applied Science provided partial support for some of the students involved in the project.  Venkat Peri made initial introductions to Satch Consulting and Datum3D.  Peter Belhumeur served as a willing sounding board at various stages of the project.  Bigshot’s design was greatly influenced by frequent discussions with Kalpana Kanthan and Akash Kanthan Nayar.
     
    Anne Anne
    		 
     
    Evelyn Evelyn
    		 
    Lisbeth Lisbeth