Multimedia Gallery
The Discovery FilesSalt Grain Size Camera!
Imagine one day being able to use the entire back side of your cell phone as a camera! Researchers at have developed a camera the size of a grain of salt that, despite being just a half millimeter wide, it can take clear, full-color images as crisp as cameras 500,000 times its size. Such a micro-sized camera could lead to extraordinary advances in medical diagnosis and care, and significant improvements in robotic sensors. Learn more at NSF's "The Discovery Files."
Credit: National Science Foundation
Salt Grain Size Camera!
Hi! I'm Mo Barrow with The Discovery Files, from NSF -- the U.S. National Science Foundation.
Wait! Did you just take a selfie?
Imagine one day being able to use the entire back side of your cell phone as a camera!
With support in part from NSF, researchers at the University of Washington and Princeton University have developed a camera the size of a grain of salt.
Despite being just a half millimeter wide, it can take clear, full-color images as crisp as cameras 500,000 times its size.
With the capacity to be manufactured on the same scale as a microchip, it could turn a variety of surfaces, such as the back of your cell phone, into a camera with ultra-high resolution.
Such a micro-sized camera could lead to extraordinary advances in medical diagnosis and care, as well as significant improvements in robotic sensors.
Imagine! Minimally invasive endoscopic exams, conducted by medical robots, that diagnose and treat disease.
What you just heard was a snapshot of what the future holds.
Discover how the U.S. National Science Foundation is advancing research at nsf.gov.
"The discovery files" covers projects funded by the government's National Science Foundation. Federally sponsored research -- brought to you, by you! Learn more at nsf.gov or on our podcast.
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