Let's face it, no matter how good a camera performs, it is annoying to see the camera bump at the back wobble the device when laying flat on a surface.
However, it looks like this bump is soon going to be a thing of the past.
University of Utah
Engineers at the University of Utah have developed an extremely thin camera lens that could result in a flat smartphone back, just the way we want. The glass is flat as opposed to conventional curved lenses. In a conventional lens, light is captured off the object and bent before it reaches the sensor. However, the newer lens has microstructures which instead directly bends the light at the sensor.
The researchers have developed a new fabrication process with the help of a new kind of polymer and algorithms that can calculate the geometry of these microstructures.?
According to Monjurul Meem, one of the co-authors of the paper and an electrical and computer engineering grad student at University of Utah, "our lens is a hundred times lighter and a thousand times thinner, but the performance can be as good as conventional lenses,"
According to Rajesh Menon, one of the researchers on the team, "You can think of these microstructures as very small pixels of a lens. They're not a lens by themselves but all working together to act as a lens."
University of Utah/Apple
This lens can not just be equipped on smartphones, but also on light-weight military drones, as thermal imaging cameras to look for heat signatures. The lighter weight will help them fly longer distances and not require them to be charged more often. It'll also be convenient for soldiers to carry them in their backpack by not adding too much weight.
This lens could also help photographers with the creation of compact and lightweight lens solutions, especially for those bazooka-like zoom and telephoto lenses.
Menon also feels that manufacturing these lenses could be cheaper since they're made using plastic and not glass.