1

A. Title:
MicroCam: An Improvised Microscope from Computer WebCam

B. Purpose of the Invention:

Science plays a vital role in development because of its relation to technology and
industry. In the Philippines, there is a great need for competent and skilled scientific people that
will help immensely in the nations progress. It is truly important that the youths of today be
provided with quality education especially in Science.
Science is considered by many teachers as hard-to-teach subject and regarded by many
students as hard-to-understand subject. Aside from the fact that Science as a subject contains a
lot of complicated concepts and lessons, science requires the application of these concepts to be
fully understand. The best way to teach a student in a Science class is to show them how to do it
because it is more easily for them to appreciate the actions that they see than the words that they
hear. That is why experimentation has always been part of a Science class. It is only during
experiment time where students can have real-life experiences with the chemical reactions and
biological processes that they always read in their textbooks.
But many of these experiments can only be performed in a scientific laboratory that is
equipped with complete laboratory apparatus. Here in Manaoag National High School, we have
only one science laboratory with incomplete sets of laboratory materials. The schools one and
only laboratory is not even functional because most of the apparatus are already damaged and

old. The school administration has been excreting a lot of efforts to fill the deficiency but the
school has not enough resources to buy those expensive laboratory materials.
With this, the young inventors of Manaoag National High School devised MicroCam to
be an alternative to expensive laboratory materials. Specifically, MicroCam can be a cheaper
substitute to microscope. The purpose of the invention is to provide an inexpensive alternative to
microscope to supplement the deficiency of materials in Manaoag National High Schools
Science Laboratory. This will provide the students and teachers affordable and effective
scientific equipment that uses readily available materials for their experiments. Moreover, with
this devise, the image formed of the specimen being examined can be saved and can also be
recorded as a video.

C. Materials:
The following were the materials used in the construction of the MicroCam:

webcam
screwdriver

The following were the materials used in the construction of the stand of the MicroCam:

illustration board
scissors
puncher
ruler
pencil

The following were the materials used testing the MicroCam:

plastic cutter
electrical tape

3 machine screws (4 inches)

6 nuts for the screws (2 nuts per

screw)
paint
paint brush

laptop
glass slide

sample to examine (petals, strands

of hair, grains of sand, etc.)


D. Methodology:

CONSTRUCTION OF THE MICROCAM

The webcam was tested first in a laptop to assure that the webcam is still working.
The webcam was then dismantled by removing the screw from the outer casing which
will expose the electronics inside. The lens which is connected to the front of the casing
was also removed. On the other hand, the electronics part was detached from the back
portion of the casing with the use of plastic cutter. The lens was again connected to the
electronics but this time in an inverted position. The lens and electronics were joined with
the use of electrical tape.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE STAND

The stand was constructed to form stable and clear images. The stand was made
from illustration board. The illustration board was cut to form two rectangular planes
with a dimension of 15 cm x 10 cm using a ruler and pencil. The first plane is the base of
the stand where the Microcam was attached at its centre. On the other hand, a rectangular
plane with a dimension of 4 cm x 3 cm was cut at the centre of the second plane for the
lens to be visible through. Three holes were also made in both planes in a triangular
pattern using a puncher. The two planes was then painted using a brush. The 3 machine
screws were inserted in the holes of the two planes as well as the nuts which forms the
support of the stand.


E. Budgetary Chart:

280

ACTUAL
AMOUNT
(Php)
280

10

10

15

15

200 mL

Electrical tape
Illustration
board
Paint

15

15

1 piece

10

10

3 pieces

18

6 pieces

QUANTITY

1 piece

1 piece

1 whole

DESCRIPTI
ON

Webcam

Paint brush
Machine
screw
Screw nuts

G R A N D

T O T A L

UNIT PRICE
(Php)

Php 354.00

F. How to Use:

The function of MicroCam is almost the same as microscope. But the image
formed by MicroCam can be observed by many students because the image is projected
at the laptop. The use of MicroCam is very easy and simple. Just connect the devise to
your computer and open an image and video capture application (example is AMCap).
Put the glass slide which contains the specimen to be observed at the central hole of the
upper pltform. Backlight the slide on the devise with the use of a flashlight or desk lamp.

G. Mechanism of the MicroCam:

The webcam's digital camera works by capturing light through a small lens on to

a CMOS or CCD image sensor. The sensor converts the picture into a digital format that is
transmitted to the computer usually via a USB cable. The lens on the camera is designed to take a
wide-angle view and focus it on to the small sensor. But if you flip the lens around, this process
is reversed and the very small image appears magnified instead. This way a basic webcam should
be able to achieve 200x magnifications.

H. Features of the Invention:

With the use of MicroCam, one can easily save and record the magnified image of the

sample that was observed. Since the image formed is projected at the laptop screen, many
students could observe the specimen during experiment time. There is no need for each student
to go one by one and look at the microscopes eyepiece lens to see the magnified specimen.
Moreover, MicroCams focus can be changed by raising or lowering the upper platform a few
millimetres by twisting the upper three nuts upwards or downwards