I can’t quite discern if this is an improved GRIN (GRaded INdex) lens, a nano-Fresnel lens a combination of them or what?
That being said I do have an immediate application for a sheet of paper thick microscope...
I want to see a square mile telescope or, what the heck, a ten square mile one. Weight won't be an issue anymore, just the price of land.
My two cents: their explanation is atrocious. Before they release this thing they need to hire some marketers who can explain what they did.
I think what they are saying is that a normal lens takes a beam of light, and depending on its location (near the edge, near the middle) bends it to land on the right spot on the sensor. The problem is that you can only bend it so much, so you’re going to need a good distance for the bent beam to travel before it arrives at the right place.
This lens seems to take a particular beam of light regardless where it hits the lens — only just considering the angle it’s coming in at and moves it over to land on a particular spot on the sensor.