Starting the company we had the idea to create a linux-based High-End camera that will be Free software and Open Hardware.
Why do we wan to design Open (OH) camera?
From the beginning we targeted a scientific market and tried to develop cameras that can be easily modified and reconfigured for different purposes while preserving high performance parameters.
It has to be realized that designing for the cell phones users is different then designing for scientific research, where we do not always know the application the camera is going to be used for;
We actively pursue users freedom to modify the camera for their particular applications, with GNU GPL license.
Since a hackable camera is our goal we design for Reconfigurability and user friendliness (easiness in modifications):
the camera has Linux based computer inside
and FPGA responsible for high-speed image processing
The combination of processor running GNU / Linux and re-programmable FPGA seemed to be more efficient compared to using ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or DSP (Digital Signal Processor). FPGA is much more flexible and allows to use sensors with different interfaces with the same system board. The FPGA code is also Open.
A separate sensor board (allows to modify the camera to use different sensors).
The ability to use different sensors, including the ones that appeared on the market after the camera was developed. This ability comes from making a sensor board separate. For each new image sensor type a new board is designed.