- A purely geometrical-optics “volumetric magnifier” is proposed: a multi-lens cascade whose focal lengths and spacings are tuned—via symbolic computer-algebra—to yield a distortion-free, linear 3-D scaling of a millimetre-to-micron volume and project it beyond the hyperfocal distance so the entire depth appears simultaneously in focus, eliminating focus stacking or microscope refocusing for hobbyist micro-fabrication.

- The design is contrasted with plenoptic imaging, confocal microscopy, and digital focus stacking; it trades some diffraction blur for real-time, low-cost operation and requires no sensor arrays or GPU post-processing.

- Next steps include LaTeX documentation of the derivation, an Octave/NumPy ray-tracer to verify performance and tolerance to misalignment, and eventual diffraction analysis for higher-resolution regimes.

- Participants highlighted two low-cost sensing hacks: (1) gluing a micro-magnet to a MEMS accelerometer converts it into a sensitive magnetic gradiometer, promising portable, low-noise MEG at the price of a $0.20 sensor; (2) a recent hyperdimensional-computing paper using Kanerva’s 10 000-bit vectors achieves state-of-the-art EEG error-signal detection with only 7-bit quantization, potentially enabling cheap 100-electrode non-invasive BCIs.

- The Yokogawa white-paper “Minimal-Fab One-Stop Solution” (PDF) was circulated; it describes an integrated, small-scale semiconductor fabrication platform aimed at lowering barriers to custom chip development for labs and startups.

- Ancillary notes: analog accelerometers have heritage in satellite systems; Canonical once tried to buy a satellite team’s domain name, illustrating occasional collisions between open-source software branding and aerospace hardware communities.