METIS With the technology developed and patented by Metis for the Digital Macro Camera is now possible to achieve the objective of having a “virtual copy” and not just the virtual reproduction of a “physical” original; it is now possible to generate a file containing “all the visual information” potentially present in the original, thereby making it possible to exploit ALL the existing information at any moment, and in any situation or application. This precludes practically any need to make searches on the original, which may therefore be archived for good in an environment protected from all atmospheric agents, dust, and careless treatment by researchers. A file capable of replacing itself essentially in all applications – from those for simple reproduction for a show, an art book, or a natural-scale print, to those more specialized in study and research – must be generated with highly detailed attention, using resolutions that at first sight would appear improbable. The DMC 1015 can produce non-interpolated digital images of two- and three-dimensional subjects with 31,250 x 38,125 pixels per channel; the number of pixels must then be multiplied by 3 (red, green, and blue), thereby yielding an impressive total of more than 3.5 billion pixels which, when transformed into more practical parameters, mean 3.4 Gigabytes non-interpolated at 24 Bits, or 3.4 Gigapixels.

The DMC has an image projection area of 250 mm (Y axis) x 305 mm (X axis), which may be covered by two special optical systems with about 470 mm of focal length. The chosen technological solution is that of a completely dynamic scanning on the X and Y axes. This scan may be adapted to the shape and size of the subject to be photographed. In practice, the Digital Macro Camera – thanks to its sophisticated software and the absolute precision of its mechanics – determines how the CCD is moved, thereby producing the mosaicking suited for rendering the subject at the desired resolution. Unlike solutions proposed recently by certain digital backbone manufacturers, that at first glance appear similar, the DMC not only is independent of the CCD (in fact, its construction theoretically makes it possible to use all kinds and shapes of CCD; in this case a Sony sensor operated by Kigamo electronics, built to Metis’s specifications, is used), but it adapts its movement to the subject: the reproduction of a highly horizontal map will result in a sensor movement different from that for a square or vertical subject. Therefore, the DMC operates not in fixed patterns, but by finding at all times the best way to exploit the CCD’s resolution and its horizontal and vertical motion (the X and Y axes already mentioned). METIS Since 1975, the Italian company Metis has been operating in the field of digital image technologies, as consultants and suppliers of solutions for space agencies. Metis Via della Pisana, 419 - 00163 - ROMA Tel 0039-06-6615.0066 Fax: 0039-06-6614.1265 E-mail: info@metis-group.com Web: http://www.metis-group.com