Caltech's 'lensless camera' could make our phones truly flat
Caltech's 'lensless camera' could make our phones truly
flat
It uses math and optical sensors to simulate the effect
of a lens.
Richard Lawler, 06.22.17 in Cameras
Even as our phones get thinner, there's one spot that
keeps sticking out: the camera lens. Taking good pictures and being able to
focus at multiple distances requires a layer of glass that's a certain size,
but there's really no getting around it -- or is there? Researchers at Caltech
have devised (PDF) an "optical phased array" chip that uses math as a
substitute for a lens. By adding a time delay -- down to a quadrillionth of a
second -- to the light received at different locations on the chip, it can
change focus without a lens.
According to Professor Ali Hajimiri, it "can switch
from a fish-eye to a telephoto lens instantaneously—with just a simple
adjustment in the way the array receives light." The principle is similar
to the way phased communication arrays can focus and steer radio waves in a
particular direction, but working in reverse. Back in 2014, the team showed off
similar technology turned around to create a projector small enough to fit
inside your phone, while another application showed the potential for making
your phone into a precise 3D object scanner.
Now, for the first time, it has created a 2D, lensless
camera array capable of capturing a low res image of a barcode. The image
itself isn't particularly impressive compared to what your iPhone is capable
of, but as a proof of concept, it's a big deal. Right now the chip consists of
an 8x8 grid with 64 sensors, and the team's next goal is scaling the camera to
support larger receivers that are more sensitive and capture a higher-res picture.
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