Photron APX-RX Camera Nabs Japan SME Award

Photron Ltd., a Tokyo-based manufacturer of high-speed imaging systems and image analysis software, announced it has received a product excellence award from the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers for its APX-RS high-speed camera for enabling the study of particle image velocimetry (PIV), an optical method used to measure velocities and related properties in fluids. The system advances the understanding of an unsteady phenomenon in a turbulent, high-speed fluid, in the course of the research conducted at Kyushu University, the society said. The award was based on technical invention, scientific discovery and technical penetration. The APX-RS camera was used in the BBC’s “Planet Earth” series for a shark-attack sequence. Its Fastcam MH4 camera recently received the Crash Test Innovation of the Year award from UK-based Automotive Testing Technology International (Photron Wins Crash Test Innovation Award). The APX-RS is a slow-motion video imager that captures up to 3000 f/s at 1024 x 1024 pixel resolution, up to 10,000 f/s at 512 x 512 and up to 250,000 f/s at reduced resolution. Photron has subsidiaries in San Diego (Photron USA Inc.) and Bucks, England (Photron Europe).