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Optic Lens Uses Sound to Rapidly Bring Images into Focus

National Science Foundation-funded small business TAG Optics of Princeton, NJ is developing a lens that uses sound to more rapidly bring images into focus. TAG Optics co-founder and CEO Christian Theriault explains that the lens has applications for robotics, machine vision, metrology, and more. The early-stage technology is funded through NSF's Small Business Innovation Research program and was featured at the 2016 International Consumer Electronics Show in the Eureka Park Marketplace. The TAG Lens is a computer-controlled adaptive lens with the ability to rapidly change focus for any user defined applications. The technology uses piezoelectrics to generate sound in the liquid, resulting in an index of refraction profile that behaves like a simple aspheric lens element. Unlike many static devices that rely on the deformation of a surface or interface, the TAG Lens is more properly thought of as a tunable GRIN device that does not require any redistribution of liquid to change its optical properties. Therefore the TAG Lens can scan over a complete range of focal lengths in only microseconds - orders of magnitude faster than other liquid lenses on the market.