Piezoelectric Zoom Lens

Typical commercial off- the-shelf (COTS) zoom lens using conventional motor has limitation to further reduce its size & weight. COTS zoom lens with focal length of 50mm is usually large & heavy for small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The object of this project is to design & develop a new miniature actuating mechanism to be used on zoom lens with long focus length of 50mm and within the weight and space constraints.

A novel actuation mechanism for miniature zoom lens by one actuator based on the principle of SIDM is being developed. A permanent magnet for each lens is employed as the friction element of the SIDM, which is used for holding the moving element and stabilizing the driving condition. The magnet forces of the two permanent magnets are different, so the driving frequencies for moving each lens are not the same. By driving the SIDM at different frequencies, the two lens of the zoom lens system can be driven independently. Compared with the convention schemes using two actuators or one actuator, gears and a cam plate, the proposed mechanism can be constructed with a small size and light weight structure.

In the meantime, we are also developing a bio-inspired sampling method based on human retina structure for more efficient autofocusing.