This smartphone camera is just 2 mm thick

Smartphone manufacturers these days boast of making the thinnest devices to stand out of the crowd and offer something unique in the over-saturated market. The thickness of the camera lens used plays a significant role in achieving the same. What if there was a camera module that was just a couple of millimeters in thickness? Our phones would then be thinner than we can now imagine! Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering in Germany have achieved just that! The same was showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas earlier this month.

Aptly termed the Facet Vision, the technology is inspired by insects and their multi-faceted eyes. Instead of using a single lens, the camera is composed of 135 uniform lenses. They are placed close to each other forming a mosaic. Each one captures a part of the subject, which is later combined to yield the complete picture.

With the currently available technology, it is expected to be used in robot technology, automobile industry, medical engineering, and printing industry among others.

The camera is just 2 mm thick - a huge difference from the usual 5 mm lenses used in smartphones. Currently, the scientists have been able to achieve up to 4 MP resolution using this technology. However, further research suggests that the number can go up to 10 megapixels, making it a suitable choice for smartphones.