Diffuji: a diffusion-powered instant camera.

Diffuji is an experimental instant camera that combines the sentimentality of physical media, in this case thermal paper, with the dream-like reality that diffusion models can imagine.

Hardware. Diffuji was built with a custom 3D printed chassis to house a Raspi Nano 2w (with wifi), an Arducam (our camera), and cheap TTL thermal printer. We utilize both on-device style transfer models and more powerful API-based image generation models to transform physical scenes into new realities that can then be instantly printed and shared. The camera is quite simple, and is only composed of a shutter button, mode dial (rotary encoder), a power switch, and a small LCD display. It has pretty good battery life and is powered on two 18650 batteries with a 3A 5V UPS supply. Yes, in its current state it is quite chunky, but we're looking into significantly compacting the body to make it reasonably small and portable.

Initial thoughts. Normally, I am pretty averse to AI slop, but there is this strange attachment I feel for the images Diffuji can produce. I can hold the captured moment in my hand, it feels real, but it is this perverse artifact of reality that manifests in so many intriguing and unanticipated ways. I can't help but find myself waiting in eager anticipation as the thermal printer slowly and clunkily cranks as the next printed image slowly reveals itself, as if I were watching a polaroid print slowly develop its final image into view.

Today. Diffuji now sits on our living room windowsill, ready to be deployed at a moment's notice. We find it to be quite the conversation starter whenever we have people over, and is incredibly fun to have around at parties. Using it more, it is clear that there is something special about having a physical print produced by an instant camera. I look around my apartment today, and feel a warm sense of nostalgia looking over the reels upon reels of 19th century selfies we have of friends lined around the house. I anticipate keeping this camera around for awhile.

Diffuji ended up winning the Neo Prize and Most Creative Prize at TreeHacks 2026. If you're interested in learning more about the hardware and software stack behind Diffuji, check out our Devpost!

This project was a team effort and I have to shoutout the wonderful teammates and friends I built this with: Nathan, Pranav, and Lainey.