This lensless camera is the future of photography

To capture a picture, whether taken from a phone or a high-end DSLR, an indispensable part is the lens. Lenses have many different types, but their task is basically the same: focus the light to the camera's sensor so that it can produce images.

And recently, researchers from the University of Utah have found a very effective way to take photos and videos without the need for an indispensable component.

The researchers placed a digital camera sensor on one side of the acrylic glass and pointed it to the glass.

If you remove the lens from a regular camera - the camera on your phone for example - you will still be able to take a picture, but the result will be just a "pixelated" image without any Photoshop tip. can save. From this detail, the researchers thought, could it be possible to use algorithms to decode the pixelated color spots into a photograph that looked like a lens when there was a lens?

To do this, the researchers placed a digital camera sensor on one side of the acrylic glass and pointed it to the glass. Then, they covered the remaining edges with black tape to focus the light in the direction of the camera sensor. Using sensors, the researchers took pictures and videos of some of the images displayed on the acrylic front LED display (and at a 90-degree angle with the sensor). Finally, they used their algorithm to create an image that looked like a low-resolution version of what was displayed on the LED screen.

You can see the whole process in the video below:

You may wonder, why do we have to make a lensless camera ? It turns out, it has very useful uses that you don't know. For example, we can use them to turn car windows into a camera, or turn the windows of a house into a security camera system. The lensless camera also helps augmented reality glasses (AR) become softer and more comfortable for wearers. Instead of wearing heavy cameras, we just need to mount the sensor on the regular glasses.

Currently, the team is planning to continue developing its lensless camera system, adding the ability to take 3D photos and capture in the sun. If the project goes as smoothly as the research team expects, the lens will soon no longer be an essential component of the camera - but an additional option that is somewhat redundant and outdated.