With our noses inside our phones, we neglect to remember the existence of the wondrous, microscopic world that exists around us teeming with unfamiliar life.
Now Dotlens wants to create a bridge for us in the form of a 15x or 120x pebble-sized lens attachment for smartphone cameras. Its resolution of one micron gives any smartphone the ability to take laboratory quality photos of all manner of objects and specimen, from the rocks strewn outside your door to the house ant crawling on your kitchen floor. When you’re done, share them instantly using social media or attach the smartphone to a computer or projector for real-time collaboration or teaching.
Smartphone microscope attachments have been a thing for quite some time. Products like MicrobeScope and Skylight represent what most of these products are like, transforming smartphones into bulky, stationary microscopes. You even have the choice to create a DIY version for around $10 if you were so inclined, but what none of these have is the ability to be attached and removed simply from a smartphone, expanding the range of subjects because of the increased portability. The price is similarly light: $25 will get you the 120x version, a pledge that will go far towards their $12,o00 funding goal.