A 3-D camera must be as user-friendly as the smartphone’s camera. Now, A team led by Song Zhang, a professor at Purdue University has developed new technologies that focus on making 3-D cameras easier to use. Zhang’s team has focused on automating the profilometry process by creating algorithms that quickly evaluate the optimal exposure after knowing the intrinsic constant response function of the sensor. Moreover, the team has also come up with a new way of creating highly specific 3-D images by using an autofocusing feature on electronically tunable lenses. The team findings could help to develop technologies that will compress 3-D camera files and automate focus and exposure settings.