(Credit: Fraunhofer Institute)

Think you've got a small camera? Think again, as we've found one that measures up to a grain of salt.

The amazing boffins at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute have engineered a camera that is just 1mm cubed, made up of a layer of tiny image sensors and a lens. While the applications for this camera are more suited to medical imaging and endoscopy, it's designed to be pretty cheap (a few euros each), meaning doctors can use the camera once and discard it afterwards to save cleaning them each time.

With a resolution of 250x250 pixels, the camera is not even VGA quality, but the institute has cited some other potential applications. The camera could be used by car manufacturers to act as replacement exterior rear-view mirrors and to assist in detecting driver fatigue by monitoring eye movement. Expect the tiny pocket-rocket to make its way to production in 2012.

Via www.crunchgear.com