Did You Know

Soon after the production of commercial automobiles, the need arose to develop a means of gathering and analyzing information on the effects of automobile accidents on human bodies. Most sources agree that “Sierra Sam” was the first crash test dummy. The idea for studying the effects of a crash on the human body originated in the late 1940s when the U.S. Air Force studied the safety of the aircraft ejection seats. A 200-pound male dummy developed by Sierra Engineering was used to evaluate the ejection seats in tests, but he was not much more than a mannequin and the researchers were not able to gather all the data they wanted. As a result, the Air Force sought human volunteers.

Crash test dummies are full scale replicas of human beings. Read more on the history of crash test dummies……and the crash test dummy “family”…

High-Speed Cameras (such as those manufactured by NAC Image Technology) play an important role in safety testing.

NAC Cameras have seen a lot of action in Europe during the last three months. Some major highlights:
Sky Sports:
- Rugby Internationals
- Heineken Cup Final (International Club Rugby)
- Premiership Football (Soccer)…currently 2 matches a week
- International Cricket Test Matches
- International Show Jumping at Hickstead
- Polo Gold Cup Final
- International Boxing
International Motor Racing:
- Malaysian Grand Prix
- Spanish Grand Prix
- European Grand Prix
UEFA:
- UEFA Under 21 Championships (Soccer) 8 matches in the Netherlands
BBC Sport:
- FA Cup Final at the new Wembley Stadium
- Football (Soccer) Internationals
ITV Sport:
- UEFA Champions League Final in Athens
- International Boxing from Cardiff

The UK has been inundated with rain recently - see the rain in slow motion as it hits against the window (taken with a NAC High-Speed Camera at 1,000 fps.).

As seen on MSN Fox News, a future home run hitter takes aim at NAC High-Speed Camera.

See additional photos on MSN Fox Sports

Have you ever “researched” television sets and made up your mind which TV “sounds” like the best deal – only to get to the store and look at the pictures of different sets side-by-side…and then decided on a totally different television set based on the quality of the picture? Why? You have to SEE the difference!

Data Sheets and specifications do not tell the entire story when describing something that requires the use of one of our five “senses”. Words cannot fully describe the smell of a rose, the feel of baby’s skin, the sound of coyote’s “scream”, the taste of freshly baked bread, or the picture of fireworks exploding in the night sky.

When you are in the market for a high-speed camera – the same philosophy holds true. A wise shopper compares (sees) the quality of the image(s) produced prior to making a purchase decision. Specifications alone can be misleading – different camera manufacturers may use the same sensor, but the images from these cameras look different from each other. One camera may boast of a higher resolution – but when you look at the image, the picture appears “grainy” or “blurry” or “too dark” or the colors are not as vivid.

Before making a major investment in a high-speed camera – compare the images from different cameras on YOUR application! Just because one manufacturer may “show” you a great image taken from their camera – ask for a demo! See the visible difference!

A Japanese television show features a variety of slow motion events shot with NAC high-speed cameras - view this super cool video (almost 10 minutes long) that gives the viewer an idea of the detail that can be captured using a high-speed camera.  By slowing down a variety of events, the high-speed camera provides the opportunity to “see” things that happen too fast for the human eye to see.

In 1980 NAC developed the first High Speed Video Camera utilizing commercial off-the-shelf VHS Recording Tape - it was the NAC HSV-200! Read more…

The tongue is actually made up of 16 muscles. It assists in forming the sounds of speech. Have you ever tried co-ordinating all of those muscles in reciting a “tongue-twister“? Would you like to view others fumbling over their words?

View the tongue movement in slow motion as captured with a NAC High Speed Camera.

Take-off can be one of the most energetically demanding aspects of flight, as the bird needs to generate enough airflow under the wing to create lift. More

See a bird’s take-off captured with a NAC High-Speed Camera:

Continue reading …The fundamentals of bird flight are similar to those of aircraft….

The story of the White House Easter Egg Roll, which begins at one end of Pennsylvania Avenue and continues at the other, is one of the oldest and most unique traditions in presidential history.

Rolling eggs on the Monday after Easter was a tradition observed by many Washington families, including those of the President. Some historians believe Dolley Madison first suggested the idea of a public egg roll, while others tell stories of informal egg-rolling parties at the White House dating back to President Lincoln’s Day. More…

See an egg dropping and breaking in slow motion at the NAC Image Gallery