From smartphones to microscopes: how the new Blips 3 lenses are made (and how they are used)

“During the spring of 2022 we received more orders from schools than in all of 2021, with sales that went from around 28,000 euros last year to over 60,000 euros in the first 9 months of this year. That’s over 100% growthand only in the educational sector “: while he tells it, Andrea Antonini he is visibly happy with how his startup is doing. And he has every reason to be.

Antonini is CEO and founder of Smart Micro Opticsborn in 2016 within the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa: as we have already told on Italian Tech, it produces two types of devices, called Blips and Diple, which function as portable microscopes for smartphones (they fit almost everyone), can be kept in your pocket, bag or backpack and used when needed. Over the years they have convinced passionate about photography, science, biology and mineralogy, NGOs involved in humanitarian projects in Africa, the State Department in the USA and even Italian mothers chasing lice in their children’s hair. In addition to schools, of course.

From Blips to Blips 3, lenses made to last longer

When we met him, Antonini not only had numbers to tell us, but also to show us a preview of the Blips 3 lenses, the new version of the startup’s most accessible and versatile product: “We worked on what customers said were the weak points, or in any case the aspects that can be improved – he explained – And therefore we have made the grip on the phone more solid, making the adhesive part last longer and also allowing a better adaptation to other phones that the person had to buy over time. Furthermore, the lens is now surrounded by a black colored part, so that it is easier to align it with that of the smartphone ”.

Antonini and his team have filed a patent for the new support structure, composed of steel plates and a plastic band with a metal core, which is both flexible and resistant; moreover, the adhesive part is washable with soap and water to remove any impurities, dirt and particles that would reduce the ability to set. The lenses, which are made in the Genoese headquarters of SMO, maintain the same characteristics as always: 5x or 10x magnificationwith a level of detail that reaches up to 8-15 microns.

“We will put them up for sale on Kickstarter, with our third campaign (can be reached from here, ed) after those of 2016 and 2019: we gave ourselves a month’s time and a target of 15 thousand euros, with shipments by Christmas ”, Antonini told us. On sale at what prices? “The simplest kit, with both lenses (5x and 10x, ed) costs 19 euros, while for the one with the accessories they spend 25 ”. What accessories? “Listening to customers’ opinions, we understood that many would have wanted the capabilities of the Diple without necessarily incurring the cost, so we thought about a version of the Blips 3 that also includes a portable light and a spacerboth 3D printed and foldable, so as to offer different angle and framing possibilities “.

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A success that has come a long way

In short, the intention is to overcome the results obtained in a good but nevertheless complicated year like 2021, in which SMO had a turnover of 253 thousand euros: “In the last 4 years we have produced about 80 thousand Blips lenses, and in the last 2 years almost 5 thousand Diple kits, for a total sold of over 400 thousand euros – Antonini revealed to us – And we are confident that the educational market will continue to grow, also because schools have just started “. To grow in Italy and beyond: in our country, SMO products have been purchased from the Humanitas University of Milan for the course of Histology, as well as from various middle and high schools (in Genoa, from ICT Cornigliano, Scuola Germanica and Don Milani); abroad, the startup has garnered acclaim in Germany, Luxembourg, Canada and a lot on campuses in the United States, from Florida to Wisconsin, from Oregon to Texas to New York, with famous clients such as Cornell University and Columbia University.