DITICON ULTRA LENSES
The first foldable mobile phone from China has a camera lens made in Zurich. Five years ago, the spin-off Optotune ETH failed in this plan.
Big lenses for barcode scanners, smaller lenses for mobile phones: CEO Manuel Aschwanden at company headquarters in Dietikon with a load of Optotune lenses.
Photo: Sabina Bobst
How cool can a common housefly be: in the photo you can see every hair rising on its lip. Faceted eyes sparkle like orange-red gemstones. The close-up, so sharp that the tiny animal appears to be the size of a poodle, comes neither from an expensive National Geographic animal documentary, nor from a glossy BBC production. No, Manuel Ashwanden’s eight-year-old daughter took the photo over the weekend. With my father’s smartphone.
It is a high-end device with a foldable screen from the Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi which was presented a few weeks ago. Aschwanden received one of the first Swiss copies. Since the telephoto lens that makes this remarkable image possible is the product of 13 years of development work, Aschwanden has worked in development – first at ETH, then at his company, Optotune in Dietikon.
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