Open-source through the lens of a Microscope

A cheap professional microscope based on open-source technologies has been developed by a group of engineers at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

The project is part of the OpenLabTools initiative, aimed at providing a forum and knowledge centre for the development of low-cost and open-access scientific tools.

The idea is to enable research centres all over the world to do work even with a tiny budget. This may be a spur to education and scientific development in countries with limited resources.

The microscope prototype will cost around US$800, whereas conventional microscopes cost between US$15,000 and US$80,000. It will be modular and simple to replicate, improve and adapt to different research purposes, as the instructions will be made available online.