Development of an autofocus system for bio-inspired optical lenses

Nowadays, autofocus is a fundamental feature of a lot of devices for different field of application. It finds implementation in consumer electronics (cameras, mobile phones, surveillance systems, etc.), in medical diagnostics (video endoscopes and other optical instrumentation, etc.) and optical communications (optical fiber components). Traditional optical systems physically shift the mechanical part to achieve the right focus position. This process may be slow and not easy to miniaturize, in contrast with the actual need of quick response systems in small device. Although widely used, mechanical autofocus systems, sharply contradicts the biological methods of focusing found in nature. The human eye changes the shape of its elastic lens in order to maintain a focus condition even when the object distance varies. Tunable lenses take inspiration from this idea and vary their curvature for focusing. As a result there is a less power consumption and a quick response. The thesis activity concerns the development of an autofocus system for bio-inspired optical lenses. This is accomplished in two steps: 1. Implementation of a Graphical User Interface (GUI) to easy control the focal length of tunable lenses, applying an electrical signal. 2. Testing of autofocus algorithms in order to assess which one is more suitable regarding tunable lens applications