102 DIGITAL CAMERA^ FEBRUARY 2022 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com
Never mind a camera that fits in your pocket,
says Jon Devo: here’s one on a smaller scale
Scanning
ahead...
C
Jon Devo
instagram.com/gadgetsjon
Jon is a professional photographer,
videographer and technology journalist.it could quite easily be produced at
scale and at a lower cost than typical
lenses – at least in theory. Neural
nano-optics use ‘Metasurface’
technology, in a configuration of
1.6 million subwavelength nano-
antennas (silicon nitride cylindrical
rods) of different sizes, which
detect incoming light.
Although this approach to optical
design isn’t entirely new, it’s the first
time that surface optical technology
has been backed by neural image
processing. This clever combination
of nano-hardware and super-intelligent
machine learning software could
pave the way for a range of novel
camera applications.
For example, rather than relying
on a typical camera module, you
could turn the entire rear surface
of your mobile phone into an ultra-
high-resolution camera system.
Alternatively, this technology could
be used to create wearable cameras
that would allow us to immerse
ourselves in the moment without the
barrier and obstacle of hiding behind
a bulky camera. Taking this a step
further, metasurface-based cameras
bring us ever closer to a future where
cameras could be embedded into the
human eye, creating a truly person’s
eye view optical camera system that
seamlessly integrates with biology.
What do you think of the prospect
of nano cameras replacing the need to
hold cameras and lenses? The thought
of integrating cameras into practically
any surface excites me – but I worry
that I’d miss the tactile nature and
practice of taking pictures.ould the future of
cameras be nano?
Researchers from
the universities
of Princeton and
Washington have
developed a revolutionary optics
system that could truly transform
photography with cameras no
bigger than a coarse grain of salt.
Details of this development were
recently published in the scientific
journal Nature under the title ‘Neural
Nano-Optics For High-Quality Thin
Lens Imaging’. The new system
overcomes many of the limitations
that have hampered the development
of miniature cameras and lenses
by using complex computational
photography techniques and
deep learning algorithms.
Typical camera lenses use
various configurations of elements
to compensate for chromatic“ Researchers have been able to
produce clear, full-colour images with
a 40° field of view and a f/2 aperture,
from a camera that’s 0.5mm wide”
aberrations and distortion, as well as
to provide magnification. But using
neural nano-optics, as they’re being
called, these researchers have been
able to produce clear, full-colour
images with a 40° field of view and a
f/2 aperture, from a camera that’s just
0.5mm wide. This is something that
was previously unachievable, and puts
their image quality on par with camera
lens systems 500,000 times larger.
One of the most interesting aspects
of this development is that it uses
a similar manufacturing process to
conventional microchips, which meansPrinceton UniversityLEFT: This nano-camera is about the
size of a rough grain of salt, opening
up the prospect of myriad embedded
cameras on almost any surface.