Liquid-Lens Webcam
A new self-focusing webcam is the first consumer product with a liquid lens. The lens, from the French company Varioptic, consists of an oil-based and a water-based fluid sandwiched between glass discs in a drum the size of a watch battery. An electric charge causes the boundary between the oil and water to change shape, altering the lens’s focus. Because the lens has no moving parts, it’s more durable than other lenses of similar size.
Product: SnakeCam
Cost: About $22 for the 1.3-megapixel version, $24 for the 2-megapixel version
Source: varioptic.com
Companies: Akkord
Keep Reading
Most Popular
Here’s how a Twitter engineer says it will break in the coming weeks
One insider says the company’s current staffing isn’t able to sustain the platform.
Technology that lets us “speak” to our dead relatives has arrived. Are we ready?
Digital clones of the people we love could forever change how we grieve.
How to befriend a crow
I watched a bunch of crows on TikTok and now I'm trying to connect with some local birds.
Starlink signals can be reverse-engineered to work like GPS—whether SpaceX likes it or not
Elon said no thanks to using his mega-constellation for navigation. Researchers went ahead anyway.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.