Researchers at Stanford University have taken a step further in making a ‘Super 3D camera’ that has been created around a ‘multi-aperture image sensor.’

The new camera is being built around a 3 mega pixel unit with a total of 2,229,696 sensors each measuring 0.7 microns.

The developers have grouped the pixels in a wide range of 256 pixels having lens on top of each array.

Abbas El Gamal, professor of Stanford University and graduate student Keith Fife working with El Gamal said, “It’s like having a lot of cameras on a single chip.”

Mr. Abbas also said that the prototype camera will integrate 12,616 lenses in one, and this can easily be fitted into a mobile handset. Besides, the fantastic technology camera not only produce 3-D photo, but also record the distances to the subject's eyes, nose, ears, chin, etc.

With the use of editing software on a computer, it would also be possible to selectively defocus parts of the photo.

With the depth-information camera, 3D modeling of building, biological imaging, 3D printing and many more images can be taken easily. The users also get the option of watching the image in a regular format or in a 3D style by using the software.

According to the news release, “Point such a camera at someone’s face, and it would, in addition to taking a photo, precisely record the distances to the subject’s eyes, nose, ears, chin, etc. One obvious potential use of the technology: facial recognition for security purposes.”

The 3D camera does not require lasers or large camera equipments and can yet deliver amazing color quality. Moreover, researchers boast that this camera will be less expensive than the existing digital cameras.