A new pocket-sized device powered by smartphones may help you get a close-up view of tiny objects or organisms, like the dust bunnies on your bedroom floor, or the microorganisms crawling on the bathroom sink.
Recently, the smartphone-powered tool called μPeek that attaches over the top of any smartphone’s camera lens, has reached its funding goal on the largest funding platform for creative projects known as Kickstarter. The device can be controlled using an app, allowing you to turn your phone’s camera into a high-powered microscope.
Patrick Galliker, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Scrona – the company that developed μPeek – said that the new high-resolution microscope is not your common magnifying smartphone lens. The new device is equipped with sophisticated optical components and a motorized lens. These things are usually found in professional microscopes that are quite pricey.
To look at any surface on a microscopic level, all you have to do is attach μPeek to the smartphone and place it on the desired surface. The device also comes with a set of blank slides and a slide holder, for those interested in looking at things placed on a microscopic slide. It also has a guide that illustrates how to prepare various samples (or specimens).
According to Galliker, μPeek may become the first choice of professional scientists thanks to its high-power and simplicity. It may also be used as a tool for science classrooms in the future, he added. The device will be quite affordable, retailing for about $159, according to the company’s officials.
The credit card-sized device can be taken anywhere, like on the beach, or in the woods, since it easily fits in a pocket. There is another version of the device called μPeek Blue that can be used as a fluorescent microscope because it has ultraviolet (UV) light. Since it is more advanced than the other device, μPeek Blue will probably retail for $219, Scrona officials announced.
You will have to wait a little longer before you can get your hands on one of these bad boys because the devices will only be available for purchase by the second half of 2016, according to Scrona CEO Patrick Galliker.
Image Source: scoop