"Now came the challenge: How exactly do you retrofit an 8-mm camera with a Raspberry Pi? We wanted the electronics to fit inside the original metal case of the camera that we took the lens from but realized there was a mechanical dilemma right off the bat. To keep captured video in focus as we adjusted the 8-mm lens for different shots, we needed to have a mechanism for adjusting the spacing between the lens and the camera module. This meant the camera module had to be able to move back and forth within the camera’s case. Using a pair of guide rails from an old CD-ROM drive to hold the camera module and an exterior plastic screw to move it back and forth, we fabricated our first prototype, using a simple plywood box in place of the original metal case."

- Claire Wright (excerpt from June 2016 issue of IEEE Spectrum Magazine)