Ever wondered what the tiny veins in leaves or the fiber structure of paper really look like? You rummage through all your tools, but thereâs nothing handy that can zoom in clearly enough. No need to rush out and buy a fancy microscope! Today, Iâm sharing a super useful âgenius hackâ â if you already have a HuskyLens 2, just swap out its camera, and it instantly turns into a âsimple microscopeâ for exploring the tiny world! No complicated mods, no extra cost. A few quick settings, and you can unlock cool new ways to check out cells, see fabric textures up close, or even gawk at the delicate crystals of salt. Itâs like having a mini âmicro labâ right on your desk at home!
First, letâs talk about the HuskyLens 2 AI vision sensor. Itâs an easy-to-use, versatile AI vision sensor with a 6TOPS dedicated AI chip. It comes pre-loaded with over 20 ready-to-use AI models â things like face recognition, object detection, image classification, pose recognition, and instance segmentation. Plus, you can even load your own trained models to teach it to recognize any object you want.
On top of that, the HuskyLens 2 has a nifty dual-mode real-time image transmission system (wired and wireless), breaking free from the connection limits of traditional vision sensors. It supports both USB wired connection and WiFi wireless transmission (youâll need a wireless network card for WiFi). With efficient image compression and stable transmission protocols, it delivers real-time footage with millisecond-level delay.
In this project, youâll learn how to swap out the HuskyLens 2âs camera to turn it into a microscope. Youâll also set up both wired and wireless image transmission, so you can see the camera feed right on your computer.
Swap out different slides, and youâll get to see all kinds of tiny worlds up close â isnât that super fun?
Prep Work
Hardware Needed
To follow this tutorial, youâll need these hardware items:
- HuskyLens 2 AI Vision Sensor * 1
A super easy-to-use AI vision module with a Kendryte K230 AI chip (6 TOPS). It comes with 20+ built-in vision models and lets you load custom ones too. Works with UART / I²C ports, so you can hook it up to Arduino, ESP32, Raspberry Pi, and other platforms.
- HuskyLens 2 Microscope Lens Module * 1
A microscope add-on made just for the HuskyLens 2. It has a 2MP GC2093 image sensor and a 6mm focal length lens, zooming in up to about 30x. It takes the HuskyLens 2âs vision from the big, visible world into the tiny, up-close stuff.
This is key for a good viewing experience. You can adjust its height to control the distance between the lens and the stage, making it easy to focus. It works with samples of different thicknesses, like glass slides or thin specimens.
- HuskyLens 2 WiFi Module (optional) * 1
A wireless add-on made for the HuskyLens 2. It uses WiFi 6, so it gives a stable, fast 2.4GHz wireless connection.
Stuff to Observe
Glass slides (optional) â a few of these
These are clear, thin pieces of glass you use in labs to hold tiny samplesâlike cells, tissue slices, or microbes. Theyâre mainly for looking at things under a microscope.
Microscope mounting accessories
Printout 1: HuskyLens 2 Microscope Adapter Ring
Itâs the clip that fixes the microscope stand and the microscope lens.
Husky 2 Microscope Adapter Ring.stl.zip
Printout 2: HuskyLens 2 Microscope Raising Block
Itâs the piece that lifts the slide up to make viewing easier.
How It Works
Putting Together the Microscope
Swapping the Camera
First, make sure your HuskyLens 2 is turned off. Then, unscrew the screws on both sides of the camera and take off the original one.
Line up the white connector, then pop the microscope module into place.
Screw it in to secure it. Heads up: if you skip screwing it down, it might not connect properly, and that could mess up the camera module.
Putting the Microscope Together
To put the microscope together, youâll need the microscope stand, the HuskyLens 2 with its microscope lens, and the glass slides. The stand is really keyâitâs what makes sure you get a good view and clear results.
Adding Light with the Flash (Optional)
If the surrounding light isnât great, you can turn on the HuskyLens 2âs flash to brighten things up. Go to Settings â Flash. There, you can slide the bar to adjust how bright the light is. Itâs off by default.
Tap the "light bulb" icon to quickly turn the fill light on or off. When you tap it, the icon lights up, and so does the fill light. The brightness will automatically go back to whatever you set it to last time. If youâve never adjusted it before, the first tap will default to 80% brightness.
Husky 2, check out the microscope!
Adjust the height of the microscope stand and take a look at the micro-world on the glass slide.
Microscope Image Transmission
Wired Transmission
To use the wired real-time image transmission, you need to install the RNDIS driver. If you havenât installed it yet, hereâs how to do it on Windows 11. For other systems, if this method doesnât work, check guides for your specific OS or contact tech support.
Connect your HuskyLens 2 to the computer via USB. Then open Device Manager â Other Devices â RNDIS. Right-click and select "Update Driver."
Choose "Browse my computer for drivers."
Choose "Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer."
Scroll down and find Network Adapters.
On the left side, find Microsoft, and on the right side, find USB RNDIS Adapter.
Now you can see that in Device Manager -> Network Adapters -> USB RNDIS Adapter, which means the driver update is successful.
Download the screen transmission software VLC: get the latest version from its official website (https://www.videolan.org/vlc/), then click to download the VLC installer â vlc-3.0.18-win64.exe
Slide the HUSKYLENS 2 screen to find the Real-Time Video Transmission feature (update the firmware first if you can't locate it). Under this feature, toggle on the RTSP Video Transmission switch and tap Confirm.
At this point, it will automatically return to the main interface. The status bar at the top right corner shows the real-time image transmission icon, indicating that it is in image transmission mode. At this time, just open any model in HUSKYLEN 2 to start image transmission.
When the HuskyLens screen shows the following content, it means the image transmission is ready.
At this point, launch VLC, open Network Stream, and enter rtsp://192.168.88.1:8554/live.
To exit this mode, you need to click the real-time image transmission icon again and turn off the RTSP image transmission switch. Otherwise, it will stay in image transmission mode all the time.
Wireless Image Transmission
To use wireless image transmission, you need to enable the WiFi function. The WiFi module for HuskyLens 2 needs to be purchased and installed separately. For purchase, please click on "HuskyLens 2 WiFi Module Purchase". For installation instructions, please refer to "HuskyLens 2 WiFi Module Installation Tutorial".
After installation, open System Settings -> WiFi.
Turn on the WiFi switch. Wait for a few seconds, and the list of surrounding detectable WiFi networks will appear. Click "Refresh" to update the list. If you turn off WiFi when it's on and then turn it on again, you need to wait 30 seconds. You can't turn on WiFi again within 30 seconds.
Tap to select the WiFi you want to connect to, then enter the password. Once done, click the "â" at the bottom right.
Wait for the WiFi to connect successfully. If it fails to connect within 30 seconds, a pop-up will notify you. You can choose to retry or cancel. Click "Cancel" to reselect and enter the password to connect. Please carefully check if the password is correct and if the network settings allow unfamiliar devices to connect. If youâre sure the password is correct and the network settings are normal, move closer to the hotspot or router and click "Retry". Once connected successfully, the IP will be displayed.
The system will automatically save the password for the WiFi you've connected to before. When you choose a saved WiFi to connect, you can connect directly without entering the password. Saved WiFi can be deleted. After successfully connecting to WiFi and without connecting a USB data cable, turn on the live view switch, and you'll find two image transmission URLs.
Type the first URL into VLC.
Wireless image transmission is successful. Compared to wired image transmission, wireless transmission has a bit of delay.
Image Transmission Effect Display
Use either wired or wireless image transmission method to view the microscope image on the computer.
