Scientists have unveiled a new technology based on hybrid meta-optics that can take high-grade photos with none of the bulk of conventional cameras.
Most modern cameras, especially those intended for professional use, leverage multiple interchangeable lenses that help the photographer obtain the best image for any particular scenario, albeit at the cost of compactness and portability.
Scientists have been researching flat optics made of meta-structures to achieve high-grade image quality while not compromising on portability.
Meta-structures are novel materials with repeating patterns in their structures designed to manipulate other structures by designing these patterns to be smaller than that of the characteristic material being manipulated. The invisibility cloak is one of its popular applications.
Modern smartphones and other smart-devices instead rely on computational imaging— using software to mask the shortcomings of their compact optical setup— to produce high-quality images and video.
The team’s findings, published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Science Advances, explore combining optics made from metamaterials and software.
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