In the afternoon of November 11, 2020, Academician Zhu Shining, of Nanjing University, gave a well-received online lecture to the students.

The topic of the lecture was the development of imaging technology. First, Academician Zhu introduced modern optical imaging technology with the example of Huawei mobile phone’s lens and so let everyone intuitively feel the development of imaging technology.

Zhu started his lecture by reviewing the history of imaging technology, from the pinhole imaging, with which the students were familiar, to the optical camera obscura, and the invention of the camera. The pictures he showed presented the process of how technology developed from a simple principle to its practical application. The advent of the camera was followed by a long film-based era.

The academician then introduced the end of the film era by CCD technology, which was dependent on the development of the diode industry at that time. He also mentioned that Kodak invented the first digital camera, but because the company stopped innovation due to the huge film industry, and it was finally overtaken by other companies. What we can learn from this instance is that we should keep up with the time and be innovative, instead of being satisfied with what we currently have.

After introducing the innovation history of image technology for past hundred years, Academician Zhu explained the development of the mobile phone and the history of the combination of the mobile phone and lens with the example of mobile phone lens mentioned at the beginning. He emphasized that the combination of the mobile phone and camera technology makes mobile phones gradually become intelligent and eventually smart phones which eventually surpassed digital cameras and replaced most of the cameras. The digital cameras also gradually came to an end, with a similar fate as the film.

With the development of technology, scientists employed the principle of human eye imaging to apply light field imaging technology to the design of cameras, and then with the development of bionics, scientists began to study the compound eyes of insects, and with this, we have invented lenses, which are far stronger than the human eye.

Finally, Academician Zhu looked forward to the future scenarios of the application of imaging technology. Starting from the current VR technology, we may have the vision of telescope and microscope as long as we wear special glasses in the future. This is also the direction that the students will strive for in the future.