ROCHESTER, N.Y., Nov. 17 --
Retired Kodak research scientist Bryce Bayer, whose invention of a color
filter array enabled digital imaging sensors to capture color, is today being
honored by the Royal Photographic Society with its Progress Award at a ceremony
in London. The Royal Photographic Society, founded in 1853 “to promote the art
and science of photography,” has chapters across the U.K. and ten regions
around the world.
Bayer invented the color filter array that bears his name (the Bayer
filter), which is incorporated into nearly every digital camera and camera
phone on the market today. Described in U.S. Patent 3,971,065, “Color Imaging
Array,” filed in 1975, color filters are arranged in a checkerboard pattern to
best match how people perceive images, and provide a highly detailed color
image.
The Bayer Filter enables a single CCD or CMOS image sensor to capture color
images that otherwise would require three separate sensors attached to a color
beam splitter – a solution that would be large and expensive. The red, green,
and blue colors of the Bayer filter are fabricated on top of the
light-sensitive pixels as the image sensor is manufactured, a process pioneered
by Kodak.
“The elegant color technology invented by Bryce Bayer is behind nearly every
digital image captured today,” said Dr. Terry Taber, Kodak Vice President and
Chief Technology Officer. “Bryce Bayer is very deserving of this prestigious
recognition and all of us at Kodak join the Royal Photographic Society in
saluting him.”
In addition to his work on digital color imaging, Bayer developed widely
cited algorithms for storing, improving, and printing digital images.
Bayer joins the growing list of Kodak researchers who have been honored by
the imaging industry for their contributions to the technology and standards
used in digital cameras.
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