Recently, researchers at Princeton University and the University of Washington had developed a tiny camera that is smaller than the size of a grain of rice, which can take high-definition full-color photos and play a significant role in medical and other professional fields. This tiny camera is an innovative combination of optical surfaces technology and computational processing.
Pic courtesy: Princeton University
Whereas conventional cameras use curved glass, the new tiny camera optics rely on "metasurface" imaging technology that can be produced like a computer chip.
Pic courtesy: Princeton University
The advantage of this tiny camera is that it can create sharp, full-color images.
It has the highest quality and the widest field of view of any tiny camera ever developed.
In the past, the tiny cameras produced blurred and severely distorted photos.
But, the newly developed miniature cameras can produce clear and full-color photos.
Pic courtesy: Princeton University
The research team is now working to add more computing power to the camera itself and to optimize image quality,
they also hope to add object detection capabilities for applications in medicine and robotics.
For example, tiny cameras have great potential for spotting human problems and providing sensing for ultra-small robots, both for minimally invasive endoscopy and medical robotics, and to improve imaging in another size- and weight-constrained robots.
Reference:https://engineering.princeton.edu/news/2021/11/29/researchers-shrink-camera-size-salt-grain