The new start-up of the Italian Institute of Technology SmarMicroOptics has implemented BLIPS, a set of objective mini lenses able to transform smartphones and tablets into portable digital microscopes.
The Neuroscience Team of the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) has given birth to BLIPS, the first product by the Startup IIT SmartMicroOptics (SMO). Blips product provides for a set of microscopy lenses, with approximate 1mm thickness, which can be combined with smartphones or tablets, to reach different levels of magnification and optical resolution. The lenses have a small footprint and are within everybody’s reach, making the microscopic world affordable for a big audience.
The Blips package is composed by two objective lenses: a Macro one (for the most generic ambits, to take ultra-macro pictures, to observe small moving bodies or for quality controls of manufactured goods) and a Micro one (for superior magnifications, with the opportune lighting it can reach a resolution of few microns). The objective lenses are positioned on a flexible film that adheres without glue to the glass of any device through electrostatic force. Two bands, with purposely engineered adhesive for multiple use, are positioned at the film sides, to grant the adhesion on whatever surface, without exerting any mechanical force on the touch screen of the smartphone.
Moreover, the StartUp SMO has developed a free downloadable APP, with the ideal settings for a simple and optimal use of BLIPS.
BLIPS is compatible with all smartphone and tablet models and needs minimum maintenance. The patent for the developed technology has been requested by IIT, whose researchers and laboratories have recently given birth to the start-up SmartMciroOptics.
