Lytro
Encyclopedia
Lytro is a startup company
founded in 2006 by Ren Ng
, Ph.D, a light-field photography researcher at Stanford University
that aims to deliver a light field camera for consumers by the end of 2011.
Unlike the German company Raytrix
, the first company to enter the market of plenoptic cameras, targeting industrial and scientific applications of light-field photography, Lytro plans to focus on the consumer market.
The company has produced the camera itself rather than licensing technology to an established manufacturer.
In 2011, Lytro demonstrated capability to produce a camera that allows users to change the focus of a picture after the picture is taken. Lytro is developing “a new type of camera that dramatically changes photography for the first time since the 1800s,” according to TechCrunch.
The company's first camera was launched on October 19th, 2011 in 8 GB ($399) and 16 GB ($499) versions, shipping in early 2012.
Lytro board members include Ben Horowitz
, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz
; Patrick Chung, partner at NEA; and TiVo
cofounder Mike Ramsay, with Charles Chi of Greylock Partners serving as Executive Chairman. Advisors include Intuit cofounder Scott Cook
, VMware
cofounder Diane Greene
, Dolby Labs chairman Peter Gotcher and Sling Media
cofounder Blake Krikorian.
Lytro founder Ng is the CEO. Lytro’s Chief Technology Officer Kurt Akeley
was a founding member of Silicon Graphics
.
Features of a plenoptic camera
include:
Startup company
A startup company or startup is a company with a limited operating history. These companies, generally newly created, are in a phase of development and research for markets...
founded in 2006 by Ren Ng
Ren Ng
Dr. Ren Ng is the founder and the chief executive officer of a Mountain View, California-based start-up, Lytro, Inc. . The company is developing light field technology for digital cameras and has received $50 million in venture capital funding..Lytro unveiled its camera design on Oct...
, Ph.D, a light-field photography researcher at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
that aims to deliver a light field camera for consumers by the end of 2011.
Unlike the German company Raytrix
Raytrix
Raytrix is a German company founded by Christian Perwass and Lennart Wietzke that was the first to create and market commercial plenoptic cameras.The R5 camera produces images of 1 megapixel resolution, while the R11 produces 3 megapixel images....
, the first company to enter the market of plenoptic cameras, targeting industrial and scientific applications of light-field photography, Lytro plans to focus on the consumer market.
The company has produced the camera itself rather than licensing technology to an established manufacturer.
In 2011, Lytro demonstrated capability to produce a camera that allows users to change the focus of a picture after the picture is taken. Lytro is developing “a new type of camera that dramatically changes photography for the first time since the 1800s,” according to TechCrunch.
The company's first camera was launched on October 19th, 2011 in 8 GB ($399) and 16 GB ($499) versions, shipping in early 2012.
Company history
While he was a researcher at Stanford, Ng was photographing a friend’s daughter and noticed "it was incredibly difficult to focus the image properly and capture her fleeting smile in just the right way." After completing his Ph.D, Ng decided to use his experience in light field research to “start a company that would produce light field cameras that everyone could enjoy."Lytro board members include Ben Horowitz
Ben Horowitz
Ben Horowitz is a high technology entrepreneur and investor. He is best known for co-founding and running the enterprise software company Opsware. In July 2007, Horowitz sold Opsware to Hewlett-Packard for $1.6 billion in cash...
, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz
Andreessen Horowitz
Andreessen Horowitz is a venture capital firm founded by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. The company's headquarters is in Menlo Park, California.The venture capital fund was started in June 2009 with an initial capital of $300 million....
; Patrick Chung, partner at NEA; and TiVo
TiVo
TiVo is a digital video recorder developed and marketed by TiVo, Inc. and introduced in 1999. TiVo provides an on-screen guide of scheduled broadcast programming television programs, whose features include "Season Pass" schedules which record every new episode of a series, and "WishList"...
cofounder Mike Ramsay, with Charles Chi of Greylock Partners serving as Executive Chairman. Advisors include Intuit cofounder Scott Cook
Scott Cook
Scott David Cook is a founder of Intuit, has been a director of Intuit since March 1983 and is currently Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board. Cook also serves on the boards of directors of eBay Inc., and The Procter & Gamble Company....
, VMware
VMware
VMware, Inc. is a company providing virtualization software founded in 1998 and based in Palo Alto, California, USA. The company was acquired by EMC Corporation in 2004, and operates as a separate software subsidiary ....
cofounder Diane Greene
Diane Greene
Diane Greene was a founder of VMware and the CEO from 1998 to 2008.Greene, Mendel Rosenblum, Scott Devine, Edward Wang and Edouard Bugnion founded VMware in 1998....
, Dolby Labs chairman Peter Gotcher and Sling Media
Sling Media
Sling Media Inc. specializes in audio and video placeshifting technology. The company is a subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation and is based in San Mateo, California...
cofounder Blake Krikorian.
Lytro founder Ng is the CEO. Lytro’s Chief Technology Officer Kurt Akeley
Kurt Akeley
Kurt Akeley is a computer graphics engineer.-Biography:Kurt Akeley received a B.E.E. from the University of Delaware in 1980, and an M.S.E.E. from Stanford University in 1982...
was a founding member of Silicon Graphics
Silicon Graphics
Silicon Graphics, Inc. was a manufacturer of high-performance computing solutions, including computer hardware and software, founded in 1981 by Jim Clark...
.
Investors
Lytro has raised approximately $50 million to date. Investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock Partners, NEA and K9 Ventures along with individual investors.Technology
Light field photography (also known as plenoptic photography) captures all the available light in a scene going in every direction. It works by breaking up the main image with a microlens over an image sensor.Features of a plenoptic camera
Plenoptic camera
A light-field camera, also called a plenoptic camera, is a camera that uses a microlens array to capture 4D light field information about a scene...
include:
- Refocusing: Users are able to refocus images after they are taken.
- Speed: Because there is no need to focus the lens before taking a picture, a plenoptic camera can capture images more quickly than conventional point-and-shoot digital cameras.
- Low-light sensitivity: the ability to adjust focus in post-processing allows the use of larger apertures than are feasible on conventional cameras, thus enabling photography in low-light environments without a flash.
- 3D images: since a plenoptic camera records depth information (which allows it to focus at variable depths), stereo images can be constructed in software from a single plenoptic image capture.