Digitally controllable polarization filter or LED ring light for microscopes

[nitro2k01]

I just had an idle thought as I rotated a board to get the right angle to be able to read a component marking. What if I had a ring light for the microscope where I could control the angle of the light by which of the LEDs are lit? This could then be controlled with a jog wheel off to the side where it could be turned without the risk of dislodging the thing being worked on or the microscope. You could have controls for the angle and the width of the "beam". Alternatively, a polarizing filter could be similarly controlled electronically using a round single segment LCD glass. And this could also potentially be automated, where a device could quickly sequence a full 360 rotation and take pictures at intervals to facilitate future reverse engineering just from the pictures. Does anything like this exist currently as an accessory to microscopes?

[Someone]

Automation = spendy

https://www.thorlabs.com/newgrouppage9.cfm?objectgroup_id=12829

Why not just use a manual rotated holder?

[nitro2k01]

Automation = spendy

https://www.thorlabs.com/newgrouppage9.cfm?objectgroup_id=12829

That seems like a mechanical device with positional feedback and a fancy control interface, which means money++. My idea for the polarization would simply be a round LCD glass where you control the bias level. The simplest version could be more or less just a potentiometer controlling the LCD. The LED idea would require some more smarts, but not more than a hobbyist could cook up their own board for and order from whatever manufacturer, and control with an Arduino or whatever. It doesn't have to be expensive at all. And for both ideas, no mechanical rotation is necessary.

Why not just use a manual rotated holder?

For the LED idea, you have a cable to contend with, which makes rotating the whole ring light module difficult. You could solve it more simply with a mechanical shutter that you rotate but you'd also want to easily switch to a full light mode.

[thm_w]

You can buy this for $20: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006605074650.html

Beware: color temperature and CRI are garbage.
But it works fine for reading IC markings.

[jpanhalt]

Absolutely, in pathology we have used a manually adjustable polarizers for years.  I can see no reason to make it digital, unless you are using digital/analog automated optics to read something.