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Jumping straight to what makes the Xiaomi Modular Optical System possible, Xiaomi’s proprietary LaserLink technology helps the module connect to the phone with ultra-fast 10Gbps optical data transfer. [...]
> This LaserLink optical communication module transmits raw data as a near-infrared laser through the lens to the phone’s image signal processor (ISP) in nanoseconds without delay or compromise in quality.
Sony aimed for something similar in 2013 with their QX camera series (https://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/sony_ilce_qx1_review), but those were complete cameras including battery and SD-Card slots that communicated wirelessly via NFC or WiFi with the mobile phone so there was a lot of redundant functionality.
