Every day, Anicet Mbida makes us discover an innovation that could well change the way we consume.
This Tuesday, he is interested in a new technology, the Meta Lens.
They will soon allow you to take quality photos with phones without the need for large sensors behind the mobile.
The innovation of the day is the imminent end of huge photo sensors behind phones.
Future models will be all flat and of just as good quality.
All thanks to a whole new way of making optics.
Today, inside, it has dozens of lenses (convex, concave, divergent…).
They are stacked on top of each other, which ends up taking up space and protruding from the case.
This is why recent phones keep rattling around as soon as you put them on a table.
We are now developing new ultra-thin lenses.
It is a simple sheet of plexiglass two millimeters thick.
And yet, it will make the light converge exactly like a large classic lens, thanks to a micro pattern engraved in the middle.
This is called the "Meta Lens".
And in two millimeters, what level of zoom can we have?
Anyone is the magic.
We could have the equivalent of a paparazzi mega zoom, nothing would stick out of the phone.
We have been working on these ultra-thin lenses for several years.
In recent months, there has been considerable progress.
For a long time, they were limited to black and white.
Now they work in color.
We could only have a fixed focal length, that is to say a single zoom level.
But researchers at MIT have just found a way to obtain multiple focal lengths, still within 2 millimeters of thickness.
Obviously, all the phone manufacturers are on the job, because that would save them from multiplying the lenses on the back of the devices, like today.
It's not just phones.
This technology could be a real game-changer when it comes to optics.
Imagine binoculars no thicker than spectacle lenses or a telescope that fits in your hand.
It will be possible with the Meta Lens.