The recently announced Sony "Mavica" electronic image camera has important implications for information management. To complement the imaging system, Sony introduced the "Mavigraph," a printer based on magnetic video technology. Together they demonstrate an innovative filmless "picture" process in which images are created and printed by electromagnetic means, the same basic method used in text processing and storage computers.
"Mavigraphy," which Sony has termed the new imaging process, uses an electronic shutter to admit light rays onto a microprocessor chip inside the camera. The chip then converts the rays into electronic impulses which are recorded on a small magnetized disk, similar to the disks used for memory storage in word and data processors. This points to the possibility of image processors or computer banks that store photographic images which are automatically retrievable.
Mavigraphy image signals can be transmitted via phone wire over long distances onto a video terminal. Continuous readings of 10 pictures per second are possible; speeds of up to 60 may be achieved in the future. Through electronic means, users can control color tone and produce composite pictures. Up to 50 images can be recorded on a magnetic disk, which is reusable. For viewing, the disk is placed in a special adapter that reconverts impulses into a signal that can be viewed on a standard video monitor.
The Mavica and Mavigraph will be marketed in 1983 for both industrial and consumer use. Its greatest attraction is for large in-house systems where a file of thousands of electronic images can be stored and retrieved with ease.
