Researchers invent a ‘new type of pixel’ that could create screens that double as cameras – and the internet’s first thought is ‘what could go wrong?’

A new type of pixel is capable of both controlling and analyzing light
It is based on the Fourier mathematical tool
We will have to wait a bit for this to appear on our gadget screens.

Screens that act as cameras could be integrated into future gadgets, as researchers at ETH Zurich in Switzerland have developed a new type of pixel that can analyze and create images simultaneously.

These bidirectional pixels are capable of both controlling and reading the intensity, oscillation, phase and polarization of light, and they are based on the fundamental physics of interfering light waves. Pixels are carefully sculpted at the nanometer level to direct light as it hits the surface and disperses.

At the same time as light passes through the pixel and is reflected back to the viewer, creating the required images and patterns, an analysis of the incoming light can also be performed, all on the same pixel.

Scaling

Tiny surface ridges are used to control light (Image credit: Glauser YM, Vonk SJW et al., Nature 2026)

The pixel is called a Fourier pixel after the mathematical tool the component is based on. It’s basically a way to break down a complex output signal into a series of waves that can be more easily controlled, like the light fields here.

The research is in its early stages and there will be challenges in scaling it up. Currently, pixels need laser light as a source and are fixed on what they can display. It’s not like a television screen that can display anything, although there are several potential avenues by which the technology could be developed in this direction.

The reactions on Reddit are perhaps a sign of our current technological age, as people immediately saw the potential for surveillance. “Screens that are also cameras, what could go wrong?” reads one poster, while another says: “I will never buy a device with this technology.” Fans of dystopian science fiction have also been inspired to quote excerpts from 1984 about “telescreens”, which were two-way televisions and security cameras used to monitor citizens.

Interesting piece of technological history from the time: the term “pixel”, originally “picture element”, was first used in print in 1927, so next year will mark a century since the words (now word) were originally introduced.

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