The History of Digital Photo Frames

The digital imaging revolution was made possible by the invention of charged coupled devices (CCD), which recognize light and images, then digitize the information. In the 1960’s, the United States Department of Defense had an aggressive spy satellite surveillance program in which photographs were taken by satellites circling the Earth. The cameras used film, so when several rolls were filled with images, a radio signal was sent to the satellite telling it to drop a canister filled with the exposed film so it would land in a safe location where it could be retrieved or could be scooped up by a special aircraft as the canisters fell from the sky.

After many years of this difficult process, and many failed attempts to retrieve the canisters of film, the Department of Defense approached private industry to see if they could develop an alternative to this awkward process. After years of research, the CCD technology was invented and perfected. With the advent of CCD technology, images could now be recorded onto a computer-like device or hard disks, allowing the satellite to transmit the stored images to Earth.

The breakthrough of CCD technology has had an incredible impact on our daily lives. One of the first was the creation of the digital camera, which has largely replaced film cameras, and with that came the need for digital photo frames.