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FotoNation - Supplying the Digital Advantage by Jon Sienkiewicz FotoNation is the behind-the-scenes outfit that develops some of the most useful technology being incorporated into today's newest digital cameras.  From automatic red-eye removal to facial recognition, they come up with the small miracles you can make happen with your photos. Article rating: 8.60

You’ve probably enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast without giving a single thought to the farmer who raised the cranberries, the baker who made the bread or the butcher who dressed the turkey. Your appreciation went to the cook—and that’s how it should be. People—and companies—who provide vital behind-the-scenes solutions are frequently quite satisfied remaining invisible. In fact, that’s one of the reasons why they are so essential—they’re willing to do the work while others get the credit.

The same holds true in the camera industry. If your new camera includes exciting features like red-eye reduction or wireless connectivity you probably owe a debt to a company you may have never heard of.

FotoNation was founded back in 1997 by Eran Steinberg and Yury Prilutsky. Although the company has been around for less than ten years they’ve made enormous contributions to the way we enjoy digital photography. Camera manufacturer insiders know them as essential providers of digital imaging and digital camera connectivity solutions. They are one of the early leaders of the digital imaging revolution, and have pioneered an industry wide Photo Connected initiative that has launched mainstream adoption of digital photography by businesses and consumers.

But don’t expect to see their ads in the back of Shutterbug. FotoNation provides digital processing and connectivity firmware solutions to leading companies involved in digital imaging, including many digital camera makers as well as manufacturers of imaging chipsets, printers, internet service providers, and other related manufacturers around the world. Their technology drives red eye reduction, face recognition, wireless connectivity, dust removal and other user benefits.

“We’re lucky in that we’re able to provide solid technology for all of the top players to one degree or another,” Eran Steinberg, CEO of FotoNation, told us recently. “The list includes Kodak, Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Pentax, Samsung, Sanyo, Sony, Microsoft and others we won’t mention.

“We believe people take millions of digital pictures but they don’t know what to do with them, or at least do not understand everything that’s possible,” Steinberg continued. “The ‘Mission’ of FotoNation is to make it easier for digital camera and cellular cameraphone users to utilize their images.”

FotoNation supplies technological solutions to camera manufacturers. “We provide ways for people to take better pictures,” Steinberg explained. “Camera makers add our embedded image processing technology to improve the results that end-users get. We’re not doing the basic things—camera manufacturers handle that on their own. We provide the more advanced tools.

“We’re also concerned about what people do with their images after they take them,” he continued. “Our thinking is based on the concept that once people take the pictures, most of the images end up on the hard disk. That’s not the best place. There are more stable and transparent ways to use images—uploading through wireless Connected Photography technology, for example.”

We asked Eran to talk about the biggest challenges digital photographers face.

“Digital photography took us back a little bit. People buy into the idea that digital is ‘simpler, easier, better’ which I’m not sure is right. Simplicity took away some of the user’s capability. It’s difficult to explain, but I think people are relying on technology too much. For example, Ansel Adams would not have been a better photographer if he had used digital equipment.”

“Camera companies naturally position their products as being exciting and futuristic, but they sometimes fail to answer the question ‘Why is digital better?’ What has digital given me that’s better than film cameras? What can we do beyond that? We now have a PC inside every camera—what else can we get in terms of performance?

“In our eyes, the ‘Digital Advantage’ is threefold,” Steinberg said.  “It comes into play when archiving, storing and finding images. It’s also a very powerful enabler for analyzing images. And of course, it’s unsurpassed when it comes to correcting images.

“But what do you do with the images?” Steinberg pressed. “Of course, printing is still very important. So are archiving and various forms of sharing. Remember, our mission is to make it easier for people to do things with their images.”

What’s in the future for FotoNation and the photo industry?

“Our role is to provide a reservoir of advanced features that go on top of a mature digital camera design,” Steinberg said. “In 2007 you can expect to see several successful examples of cameras using wireless connectivity. The wireless technology to date has gotten off to a rocky start, but that’s over. You’ll see several reliable systems next year.”

For more information about FotoNation please visit their website: www.fotonation.com

News Flash
May 19, 2006, Galway, Ireland – FotoNation, Inc. one of the world’s leading award-winning imaging and connectivity solutions companies for the digital photography industry, announced today that it has been awarded a patent for red-eye detection and correction. 
 
Issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), U.S. patent #7,042,505 for “Red-Eye Filter Method and Apparatus” claims priority as of October 1997.  The patent describes the process of red-eye detection and red-eye removal for any digital filmless apparatus and illustrates FotoNation’s offering of red-eye correction technology for devices, such as digital cameras, imaging-equipped cell phones as well as digital printers.  The patent is the latest addition to FotoNation’s extensive list of granted and patent-pending applications in the U.S. as well as in Europe and Japan.

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