Researchers at Stanford University have developed a camera that sees the world through thousands of tiny lenses. The resulting image is an electronic “depth map” that provides a super 3D picture.
The camera is built around a “multi-aperture image sensor.” The pixels on the sensor have been shrunk to 0.7 microns, several times smaller than pixels in standard digital cameras. The pixels are grouped in arrays of 256 pixels each, and a tiny lens will sit atop each array. With all its micro lenses in place, the array adds up to 12,616 cameras.
The possibilities for this depth-sensitive camera include biological imaging, 3-D printing, creation of 3-D objects or people to inhabit virtual worlds, or 3-D modeling of buildings.
Read more about the camera and possible applications on the Stanford website.
