Whiteboard Camera System Captures Educators

• 06/01/02

The SMART Camfire whiteboard camera system from SMART Technologies lets educators capture images of whiteboard notes and post information to the Web. The system is permanently mounted above a regular dry-erase whiteboard, enabling users to capture high-resolution images of whiteboard notes electronically. Notes can then be saved, printed or posted to a Web site for future reference.

The system includes a camera boom, which incorporates two high-resolution digital cameras that are installed above a 4' x 8' whiteboard, and a control unit that's mounted beside the whiteboard. The control unit features a backlit LCD, printer port, network connection and USB port. Users press a button on the control unit to save digitally enhanced images of anything written, drawn or posted on the whiteboard. To record notes from multiple whiteboards, users may connect up to four camera booms to one control unit. The system operates with software that joins the images from the two digital cameras and transforms them into JPEG files. SMART Technologies Inc., Alberta, Canada, (888) 42-SMART, www.smarttech.com.

This article originally appeared in the 06/01/2002 issue of THE Journal.