‘uninhabited’ is an ongoing photographic essay by english photographer and visual storyteller, james kerwin. the series transports us to abandoned towns and villages across the globe: from kolmanskop in namibia to al madam in the UAE. houses that have been long forgotten are now engulfed in sand, letting us wonder who once lived there.
al madam in the UAE was the 5th ghost town that kerwin visited in 2019
the eerily beautiful ghost town of kolmanskop was the first on kerwin‘s list to photograph, which he completed over four days in february 2019. in the same year, the photographer traveled to al madam to capture the stunning tones and colors of a village lost in time.
shot inside another sand-filled house in al madam
you can find more photos from other ghost towns across turkey, ukraine, and south east asia on james kerwin’s website here, where you can also browse limited edition prints. the making of the images is also shown via behind-the-scenes videos on his youtube channel. the series was intended to be shot over five years, but due to the global pandemic, it has been put on pause until it’s safe to travel once again.
the main feature of al madam is the mosque situated at the end of the town, buried in the sand
aerial view of that same mosque, shot during the morning light in november 2019
this was the photographer’s favorite image from al madam: ‘I love the framing – the window showcases the other house opposite perfectly’
kerwin returned two days later to al madam to capture the lovely colors and tones of the early morning light
the first ghost town kerwin visited was kolmanskop in namibia
‘some of the best images that I shot in kolmanskop were buried away in the back of the town, which was full of sand deeper than the houses at the front’
the photographer visited kolmanskop over four mornings, the colors and tones changed throughout the day
late afternoon light spills through the wooden roof slats of the abandoned building
shot of kolmanskop’s famous floating door: ‘I went early, and instead of shooting straight on I decided to push the camera right’
designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.
With Christmas almost upon us, perhaps it’s time to bring that child you spawned — or one you just know — into our beloved hobby. Here is a selection of the best cameras for different ages, applications, and attention spans!
The entry point for photography is lower and more varied than ever before, and getting children to try photography is far different than it was even just a decade ago. Where once it seemed that a child was either interested in taking photographs or they weren’t, now, most children have taken a photograph or understand the concept before they can articulate the thought. With mobile phone cameras in the hands of almost everybody, the notion of taking a picture of something is utterly ubiquitous. As a result, the bridge from child to child photographer is easier to cross and far less “dry.” In the days before digital, selling the idea of taking pictures simply would have been either exciting or boring; the child would either revel in the use of the machine and the delayed gratification, or they wouldn’t have been interested.
Now, cameras are not only a staple, but they’re alluring in many ways with the advent of social media. But, even the very young can be drawn in with many of the dedicated cameras made for children today. In this list, I will cover a multitude of cameras for different ages and personality types.
VTech isn’t a big name in the photography industry in most people’s books, but they control a sizable chunk of the children’s camera market and for good reason. I bought one of their cameras for my nephew, and I was impressed with the functionality and durability. As it is aimed at the very young, it does a lot of work to entice the child into using the device for anything they might want, like games and music, then the camera application has filters and selfie modes. It’s a good choice for a first camera if you’re starting them early, but honestly, it’ll be something most children will enjoy whether they have shown any interest in photography or not.
If your child is more partial to pink than blue, VTech has you covered.
One of the key selling points for the first camera for me was durability. Children are clumsy and careless, and without meaning to, they will batter any object to within an inch of its life. This Vtech camera takes the familiar form of action cameras, and from the research I’ve done, appears to be borderline indestructible. The software is similar to the above in that it has fun functionalities, but it can be taken completely underwater as well as mounted onto bikes, skateboards, and so on, so it could be an appealing choice for kids of varying ages without spending a large chunk of change on a GoPro.
I came across this camera a few months back and bookmarked it. In just 1-2 hours, your recipient can build their own 35mm film camera and take pictures with it at 50mm f/10. I expected the functionality of this camera to be almost non-existent, but I was surprised to see you have a PC socket for flash, manual exposure control, manual focusing, bulb setting, and multi-exposures. My real favorite feature, however, is the waist-level viewfinder you might have seen in old, iconic Hasselblads, for example.
Film cameras have been in and around the list of in-vogue cameras for a while and in two groups: the first is the photographers, who like me, just love old cameras and the process of shooting on film. However, there appears to be the second group of younger folk who enjoy the aesthetic (and presumably the process too in some cases). I’m not just talking about film effect filters either. David Dobrik’s “David’s Disposable” app has been a huge hit this year. All it does is delay you from being able to see your photos and mimic the style of old disposable cameras. So, for a very low price, why not buy someone the real thing?
While on the topic of film cameras, I had to include the Instax range of Polaroid-themed instant cameras. However, for me, the essence of instant cameras is the square 1:1 aspect ratio with the white border around it. This particular Instax is my favorite and a great present for just about anyone with working eyes; from kids to teenagers, to adults, this camera makes a great gift.
I’m now moving on to cameras that are aimed at teenagers and above, as they are fully-fledged, interchangeable lens bodies but that are accessible for first-time photographers, yet complex enough to learn and grow. They also won’t break the bank, though they’re admittedly not cheap. I have had the Olympus PEN E-PL10 in my possession for some months now, and it’s a brilliant starter camera in a light, pocketable body. Its marketing approach appeared to aim at social media addicts and influencers with a number of filters and settings built-in, but don’t let that fool you: this is a legitimate and proficient camera.
It can record 4K video at 30 fps, which will please the budding filmmakers, YouTubers, and the like, as well as in-body image stabilization (IBIS), quick autofocus, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth allowing you to connect to your phone, for instance.
Now, for my final suggestion, I want to offer the most serious and lasting of the cameras on this list, for someone who really might like a “proper” camera. In many ways, it isn’t much of a leap from the Olympus above, but it has a bigger sensor (APS-C crop sensor as opposed to the micro four-thirds of the Olympus) and frankly, a better sensor. This little camera has a superb spec and is on sale at the moment, bringing it in at a lower cost than the Olympus with a lens!
I’m not going to start gushing over the technical details that make this such an incredible value, as you can seek out reviews, but the X-T200 came out earlier in 2020 and hit almost every marker we all hoped it would. One highlight is the stunning, articulating 3.5″, 2.76-million-dot touchscreen. I’d also argue that Fujifilm has a better selection of lenses and, finally, the styling is beautifully retro.
Story source: https://fstoppers.com/originals/7-best-cameras-children-and-teenagers-2020-holidays-534513
For many in the northern hemisphere, winter’s cold grip is just around the corner. With the cold comes snow, a beautiful photographic subject. Few photographers capture snow quite like photographer Nathan Myhrvold. His microscopic images of snowflakes showcase extraordinary detail and natural beauty.
Of his snowflake subjects, Myhrvold says, ‘Snowflakes are a great example of hidden beauty. Water, an incredibly familiar thing to all of us, is quite unfamiliar when you see it in this different view. The intricate beauty of snowflakes derives from their crystal structure, which is a direct reflection of the microscopic aspects of the water molecule.’
Myhrvold faced numerous challenges when photographing snowflakes. They are small, fragile objects only a few millimetres across. Further, snowflakes of course melt, but they also sublimate. Both processes break down the structure of snowflakes and reduce their sharp edges and details. Time and temperature both acted against Myhrvold, so he had to come up with solutions.
Over about 18 months, Myhrvold designed and built a custom snowflake camera. His camera, which he states is the highest-resolution snowflake camera in the world, uses a 100MP medium format Phase One image sensor adapted to a microscope objective. Myhrvold designed an optical path to fill the image area of the large medium format sensor, allowing him to capture large, sharp images.
To slow down the natural melting and vaporization process of snowflakes, the microscope has a cooling stage, allowing Myhrvold to capture enough images to create a focus stacked final photograph. Further, the camera is paired with high-speed LED lights to reduce the heat output of the lights and allow Myhrvold to quickly capture his images. The camera has a minimum shutter speed of 500ms.
Building the equipment is only one part of the challenge, you must also have beautiful snowflakes to work with. Myhrvold shot on location in Fairbanks, Alaska and Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. He says that some of the best snowflakes found were between -15° and -20° F (-26 to -29° C). In the images in this article, we see the following types of snow crystals: sector plates, stellar dendrites and fernlike stellar dendrites.
To view more of Nathan Myhrvold’s work, which comprises a wide range of subjects from landscapes to food and much more, click here. He also has galleries in Las Vegas, New Orleans, Seattle and San Diego.
Story Source: Published Nov 11, 2020 | Jeremy Gray – via Digital Photography Review.
Chinese technology company Xiaomi has officially kicked off its annual Mi Developer Conference (MIDC 2020) in Beijing. During the conference, Xiaomi has showcased numerous new technologies and breakthroughs, including retractable wide-aperture lens technology for smartphone devices.
If you have been following along with new smartphone announcements over the last few years, you’ll have noticed a strong emphasis on improvements in image quality, camera performance and lens quality. Drawing inspiration from traditional camera and lens design, Xiaomi has developed new Retractable Wide-aperture Lens Technology. This advancement in design lodges a compact optical structure in the smartphone, which can be extended when necessary.
Xiaomi promises that this new design will result in a breakthrough in performance. The company states, ‘This design allows the retractable telescopic camera to have a larger aperture to increase the amount of light input by 300%, as well as showcase better performance in portrait photography and night photography compared to currently-used camera structures.’ Further, the design incorporates a new image stabilization technology which ‘offers a larger anti-shake angle’ and increases sharpness by 20%.https://www.youtube.com/embed/_I8rIRiGU98?rel=0&autohide=1&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1
The telescoping design has the primary benefit of allowing a camera not in use to be compact and easy to slip into a pocket, while still offering optical zoom when in use and capturing photos. In the case of a smartphone and its camera design, it’s even more critical to consumers that the device remain thin, compact, and lightweight.
Photography advancements from Xiaomi have been fast and furious this year despite the impact of the pandemic. This August, Xiaomi introduced its 3rd-generation under-display camera, which promised a high-quality, hidden camera under the smartphone’s display. This technology relies upon a revised pixel arrangement solution, allowing light to pass through gaps between the sub-pixels in the display.
Xiaomi’s advancements in camera technology don’t exist solely in the future. To celebrate its 10th anniversary this summer, Xiaomi launched the Mi 10 Ultra smartphone. This device incorporates a quad-camera array, including a long telephoto lens which offers a 120mm equivalent focal length and includes a 48MP image sensor. On the wide end of its camera array, there is a 12mm equivalent focal length and 20MP image sensor.
It remains to be seen what the real-world performance of a telescoping lens in a smartphone will be, but Xiaomi intends to utilize its new camera technology in upcoming smartphones. The company’s goal is to deliver ‘professional photography to hundreds of millions of smartphone users around the world’ with its expanding portfolio of image technology improvements.
Story Source: Published Nov 5, 2020 | Jeremy Gray – via Digital Photography Review.
Ricoh has published photos and video captured with a specialized version of its Ricoh Theta 360-degree spherical camera developed in partnership with with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).https://www.youtube.com/embed/113GxfKWT3g?rel=0&autohide=1&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1
‘The camera was installed to monitor the operation of the biaxial gimbal of the SOLISS (Small Optical Link for International Space Station),’ says Ricoh in its press release. ‘It was carried aboard the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV8) “KOUNOTORI-8”, the cargo transporter to the International Space Station (ISS), which was launched on September 25 , 2019.’https://ricoh-jaxa.theta360.biz/t/f6af0900-ea5c-11e9-8107-068d14261298-1?&click2play=false&view=embed
The specialized Ricoh Theta camera was modified so it could withstand the heat and radiation in space. The images and video from the camera were captured from the Exposed Facility of the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), nicknamed ‘Kibo,’ and subsequently sent back to ground stations on Earth.
In addition to the images in this article, Ricoh has also posted the photos and videos on the JAXA Digital Archives and on its Theta Lab website, where the content can be viewed interactively in 360-degrees.
Powerful photography and history meet Hollywood in the latest news that war photographer Don McCullin’s life story will be adapted for the screen, with Angelina Jolie onboard to direct the movie.
Although McCullin is best known for his involvement and dedication to war photography, his autobiography, titled “Unreasonable Behaviour”, which was released in 1990, also carries a powerful message and insight from his experiences during various human conflicts. And, it is this memoir that has inspired Scottish playwright Gregory Burke to work on an adaption of McCullin’s life experiences. Burke is best known for having written for the 2014 historical thriller “’71”, which was based on violent clashes in 1970s Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Angelina Jolie has agreed to direct the film and has expressed that she is “humbled to have a chance to bring Don McCullin’s life to film,” pinpointing McCullin’s dedication to diving deep into witnessing and recording the truth as the source of inspiration, despite how painful it might be not just to observers but also to those experiencing it directly. Jolie’s previous work as a director has also been based around periods of modern conflicts, such as, “First They Killed My Father”, “Land of Blood and Honey”, and “Unbroken”.
English actor Tom Hardy is set to play McCullin in this biopic whose production company, Hardy Son & Baker, is also going to produce the movie alongside Working Title, a British film and television production company. The title and the release date of the film have not yet been confirmed.
The Guardian accompanied the Google Trekker team when they mapped Machu Picchu in 2015
They’re closed for now but you can still take an interactive online tour, to gaze over the edge of Machu Picchu and marvel at the Pyramids from every angle
Machu Picchu, Peru
Many details of how the Inca site was constructed are still a mystery. Built in the Andes at 2,430 metres above sea level around AD1450, Machu Picchu was created without wheels or animals to transport the huge stones up the mountainside. A series of 360-degree images on YouVisit’s virtual tour explore various areas of the site. The tour also includes a voiceover guide with information on the architecture, history and resident alpacas. For a bird’s-eye view, head to Air Pano for stunning interactive images, including from the summit of Machu Picchu mountain. • Guardian Travel’s Will Coldwell accompanied the Google Trekker team when they mapped Machu Picchu in 2015
Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro
Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo
Standing 30 metres tall on the summit of the 710-metre Corcovado mountain and visible from all over Rio, Christ the Redeemer is the world’s largest art deco statue. As with some other entries on this list, this tour on Google Arts and Culture uses the Street View technology to allow visitors to “walk around” the site. As the sun sets behind misty clouds, the view from the end of the platform walkway looks out across the city, including Ipanema and Copacabana beaches and Sugarloaf Mountain, which is dwarfed from this great height. Or check it out at different times of day, with these 360-degree shots from above.
Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
Screenshot of the virtual tour homepage. Photograph: Google Maps
On the edge of the desert where the sand ends and modern Cairo begins, the pyramids of Giza were constructed around 4,500 years ago as grand tombs for the pharaohs. With walking routes around the site, this virtual tour shows the magnificent structures from near and far. This includes two of the largest pyramids ever built – the Great Pyramid (147 metres) and the Pyramid of Khafre (136 metres) – plus the Great Sphinx to the east.
Eiffel Tower, Paris
Photograph: Jeffrey Milstein/Rex
See one of the world’s most visited monuments on this interactive tour, which takes travellers up to the viewing platform of the 324-metre tower – give or take 18cm, which is how much the iron contracts and expands by – depending on the ambient temperature. Additional immersive digital exhibitions explore its construction, from 1887-89, with photos of the first glamorous Parisian visitors. There are also 360-degree shots showing a helicopter’s view of the tower against the city skyline.
Angkor Wat, “the city of temples”, is the largest religious monument in the world, originally built as a Hindu temple complex dedicated to the god Vishnu in the first half of the 12th century, but gradually transformed into the centre of worship for Buddhism in the latter part of the same century. This virtual tour explores several of the magical temples, including the five towers of Angkor Wat itself; the pink sandstone Banteay Srei; and Ta Prohm (as seen in the 2001 film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider), where nature has reclaimed the ruins. For a glimpse of the living city as it would have been in the 13th century, the Virtual Angkor project includes 360-degree video simulations created collaboratively by archaeologists, historians and CGI artists.
Built as the resting place for his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, this symbol of eternal love is considered one of the most beautiful buildings ever created. The 17th-century white marble “crown of palaces” in Agra, north India, combines Persian, Islamic and Indian architectural styles and took 22 years to complete. The interactive digital pathways include routes around the mausoleum itself, reflecting pool, paradise gardens and ornate red sandstone mosque. Aerial 360-degree images soar above the lotus-topped dome and minarets for a view over the Yamuna River.
The prehistoric site of Stonehenge in Wiltshire dates back 5,000 years. It was originally a simple earth enclosure used for cremations, with the ring of standing stones added around 2500BC. The stones include large sarsen blocks that archaeologists believe were brought to the site from Marlborough Downs (20 miles away) and smaller bluestones from Preseli Hills in Wales, a confounding 140 miles away. The English Heritage virtual tour includes a 360-degree interactive image from the centre of the site, with pop-out videos on its excavation, conservation and design, including as a site for celestial observation. Other interactive CGI images give more information on its construction and the landscape at different periods in its history.
Petra, Jordan
Google Street View virtual tour. Photograph: Google Street View
One of the oldest cities in the world, Petra was occupied thousands of years BC, though it is believed the spectacular sandstone city was built in the 3rd century BC by the Nabatean Arabs. It’s rose-coloured buildings have been viewed by the world in films such as The Mummy Returns and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, though around 85% of the city remains underground, yet to be excavated. This online tour includes a guide narrating the interactive walk around some of Petra’s most iconic monuments. It heads through a narrow gorge called the Siq, passing tombs, temple ruins, an enormous monastery and Al Khaznah, the famous building whose elaborate facade is carved into the gorge wall.
Colosseum, Rome
Screenshot of Colosseum from AirPano website. Photograph: Air Pano
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Once seating between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators who came through 80 entrances, the Colosseum was the world’s largest amphitheatre when it was built between AD70 and AD80 for sporting events and gladiatorial combat. Around two-thirds of the structure has been destroyed in the 2,000 years since but the remaining ruins are one of Italy’s most popular attractions. Take a walk inside, around the various levels, or fly overhead in these 360-degree images.
Chichén Itzá, Mexico
Photograph: ImageState/Alamy
There are many strange and wonderful architectural features within the ancient city of Chichén Itzá on Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula. El Castillo pyramid (also known as the Temple of Kukulcan, a serpent deity) at the centre has a combined 365 steps ascending its four sides. Twice a year, on the equinox, the steps cast a shadow in the shape of a serpent on the north section, which connects to a snake head sculpture at its base, meant to depict Kukulkan. The 360- aerial images explore several of the Mayan ruins, including the pyramid, the Temple of Warriors, the observatory and the nunnery.
Story source: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/mar/30/10-best-virtual-tour-worlds-most-famous-landmarks
The growing Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) market is predicted to be worth around $2 trillion to the global economy within the next 10 years.
And as much as we all tend to think that this growth will be meeting the needs of gamers, as technology continues to push the envelope for entertainment, it opens doors for other real world applications.
A clever hack developed from the entertainment industry has turned the traditional Oculus VR headset into a Low Vision Assistive Device to help anyone with severe visual impairments.
Dennis McKinney, the entrepreneur behind Advanced Low Vision Technology has developed the gaming headset into a high powered, lightweight quality of life product that liberates low vision sufferers. The Patriot Viewpoint allows users to watch TV, read magazines, use a cell phone or computer, work sudoku challenges and more importantly, read food and medicine labels.
“Technology is overcoming the problems and addressing the needs of an ageing population,” says McKinney. “The Viewpoint is so easy to use and it has already been approved for use by the Veterans Administration but anyone with a low vision disability can improve their day-to-day activities.”
McKinney is speaking from personal experience, having seen how his own mother’s quality of life has improved by having the ability to read books or watch her favorite TV shows, using the immersive technology provided by the headset, without the need for the traditional prescribed goggles.
Patriot Viewpoint
In terms of usability, McKinney says that during development of the Patriot Viewpoint, great efforts were taken to make controlling the device simple and intuitive, with swipe controls to increase magnification and access the on-screen menu, clear and simple built-in voice commands, text-to-speech functionality and eleven different Hi Contrast Color modes for full visual accessibility.
McKinney continues: “Businesses are starting to build a better understanding of VR technology and we have discovered ways to help it solve problems that low vision sufferers face.”
The Patriot Viewpoint is already helping to boost the quality of life for sight-impaired patients and it’s now so easy to own your own system by simply calling Advanced Low Vision Technology direct at 765-994-5639, or visiting their web site at http://www.advancedlowvisiontechnology.com for additional information.
One of the questions marketers often ask when embarking on their first VR project is ‘what return on investment (ROI) should I expect?’. It’s a valid concern because you’re about to spend your budget on a new marketing activity. Luckily, there have been studies about the effectiveness of these new marketing vehicles. In this blog, we’re going to focus on the value of 360-degree photos and virtual tours.
Here’s what we found:
Google: Virtual tours double the interest of people
They found out that a business listing with a virtual tour is twice as likely to generate interest online.
Those who view a listing with a virtual tour check the media 44% of the time. On average, 41% of these place searches lead to an on-site visit because they booked a reservation there.
The same study suggests that people appreciate virtual tours and 360-degree photography provided by businesses. More than half of the respondents (67%) want more businesses to use this modern-day marketing material.
Home buyers find virtual tours of a property useful
A typical home buyer uses a mobile device to look up properties online. A 2017 research from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) found out that virtual tours are very useful to buyers. More than half of their respondents have taken a virtual tour of the property they liked. They like the technology so much that 54% of them won’t check out a property without these virtual images.
“Online listings have virtual tours so viewers can look at a bunch of potential homes while narrowing down their search to a select few in the effort to save time,” they stated in their report.
The NAR wasn’t the only organisation and institution that looked into the effects of virtual tours on the home buyers interest. Here are other studies that back the idea:
Realtor.com® – Listings with a virtual tour receive 87% more views than those without or with still photos alone.
Propertyweek.com – Virtual tours engage 40% more online viewers, making the property more saleable.
These data mean virtual tours are vital to the decision-making process of a home buyer before he/she proceeds to a purchase. Soon, virtual tours will be the standard way to market residential and commercial properties.
360-degree photos and videos of products boost sales
Businesses usually use 360-degree content to promote themselves on social media like Facebook and Youtube — and it is thriving. This trend started in 2016 and has given marketers a new way to showcase their products ever since.
In a study conducted by Social Bakers, they found out that 360-degree photos make companies more engaging. Business who provide virtual tours to gain more fans and sales succeed by as much as 16-67%. That being said, brands from all industries must thrive to produce and share 360-degree content for their fans online.
Harness the power of Virtual tours and 360-degree Photos
Modern-day content like virtual tours and 360-degree photos are highly-engaging especially when paired with a meaningful copy. It hooks your online fans for up to five to ten times longer, keeping them away from your competitors.
Zombies or enemies flashing right before your eyes and the dizzying feeling of standing on the edge of a cliff using virtual reality and augmented reality (AR and VR) are no longer exclusive to the games or media industries. Those technologies allow us to conduct virtual conferences, share presentations and videos, and communicate in real time in the virtual space. But because of the high cost and bulkiness of VR and AR devices, the virtual world is not within easy reach.
Recently, a South Korean research team developed moldable nanomaterials and a printing technology using metamaterials, allowing the commercialization of inexpensive and thin VR and AR devices.
Professor Junsuk Rho of the departments of mechanical engineering and chemical engineering and doctoral student in mechanical engineering Gwanho Yoon at POSTECH with Professor Heon Lee and researcher Kwan Kim of department of material science at Korea University have jointly developed a new nanomaterial and large-scale nanoprinting technology for commercialization of metamaterials. The research findings, which solve the issue of device size and high production costs that were problematic in previous researches, were recently published in Nature Communications.
Metamaterials are substances made from artificial atoms that do not exist in nature but they freely control the properties of light. An invisible cloak that makes an illusion of disappearance by adjusting the refraction or diffraction of light, or metaholograms that can produce different hologram images depending on the direction of light’s entrance, uses this metamaterial.
Using this principle, the ultrathin metalens technology, which can replace the conventional optical system with extremely thinness, was recently selected as one of the top 10 emerging technologies to change the world in 2019 at the World Economic Forum.
In order to make metamaterials, artificial atoms smaller than the wavelengths of light must be meticulously constructed and arranged. Until now, metamaterials have been produced through a method called electron beam lithography (EBL)*.
However, EBL has hindered the commercialization or production of sizable metamaterials due to its slow process speed and high cost of production.
To overcome these limitations, the joint research team developed a new nanomaterial based on nanoparticle composite that can be molded freely while having optical characteristics suitable for fabricating metamaterials. The team also succeeded in developing a one-step printing technique that can shape the materials in a single-step process.
The team succeeded in producing an ultrathin metalens that is 100 times thinner than the strand of a human hair by using this newly developed technology. Metamaterials can be made into one-thousandth of thickness of heavy glass or plastic lenses. This is the first time in the world such ultrathin metalens was produced in a single-step printing process.
If the cost of making a metalens at the performance of conventional glass lenses were one million won (USD 8,200) per unit, this technology enables the production at about 10,000 won (USD 8), which is 1/100 the cost and 1/10,000 the thickness in a simplified process.
Professor Rho, who led the research, stated, “This one-step printing technology of nanomaterials allows the fabrication of metamaterials over 100 times faster than the conventional electron beam lithography.” He added, “These lenses can not only make the existing thick, large VR and AR lenses or glasses dramatically lighter and smaller, but can also be applied to curved or flexible panels, which facilitates the use of metamaterials in large omnidirectional invisible cloaks or in curved or bendable wearable devices at a fraction of the cost.”
