Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 5 hrs ago
3D-printed light routers could improve low-light smartphone photos
Researchers in Singapore, China and Japan developed tiny 3D-printed structures called color routers to guide light inside camera sensors.
Most camera sensors use filters that let through one color at each pixel and block the others, wasting much of the incoming light.
In tests, the routers directed about 70% of incoming light to the intended sensor areas.
A camera setup using them produced similar brightness with a four-millisecond exposure instead of 10, which could reduce blur in dark scenes.
The test also found more realistic color, but about a quarter of blue light reached the red channel.
The experiment used a monochrome sensor, not a complete smartphone camera, so the design still needs testing on an actual image sensor.
Researchers say they must adapt it to chipmakers’ materials and manufacturing methods, and the technology could take years to reach phones.
Researchers have 3D-printed microscopic structures called color routers that direct red, green and blue light to the right areas of a camera sensor.
In tests, the routers directed about 70% of incoming light to intended sensing areas, compared with about 30% passing through a typical color filter.
A router-based camera setup produced similar brightness with an exposure of about four milliseconds, rather than 10.
The tests used a monochrome sensor, not a complete smartphone camera, and the design still has color leakage.
Researchers say the next step is to integrate a color router directly onto an image sensor and test it.
- Who
- Researchers at Singapore’s University of Technology and Design, with partners in China and Japan.
- What
- They 3D-printed color routers that steer light to camera sensor areas, a technique that could improve low-light photos.
- When
- The research and tests were reported on October 23, 2026.
- Where
- The work was conducted by researchers at Singapore’s University of Technology and Design and partners in China and Japan. The article does not state where the tests took place.
- Why
- Typical camera filters block much of the incoming light, which can contribute to grainy or blurry low-light photos. The routers aim to direct more light to the sensor.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The team 3D-printed color routers using resin and a two-photon polymerization technique.
In real-world tests, the routers directed about 70% of incoming light to intended sensing areas.
The team plans to integrate a color router directly onto an image sensor and test its performance.
- Light directed to intended areas
- About 70% of incoming light
- Typical color-filter transmission
- About 30% of incoming light
- Exposure in router-based setup
- About 4 milliseconds, compared with 10 milliseconds
- Color leakage
- About 25% of blue light reaches the red channel
- Research institution
- Singapore’s University of Technology and Design