Can see in the dark. In China, created the bionic eye, superior to human

The device is a three-dimensional artificial retina, which received a high-density matrix of photosensitive nanowires.

“In the future, we will be able to use this to improve vision prostheses and humanoid robotics”, – said Zhiyong Fan, a researcher at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

The team, led by Fan, aligned a curved aluminum oxide membrane with tiny sensors from perovskite, a photosensitive material that is used in solar cells. Wires simulating the visual cortex of the brain transmit visual information collected by these sensors to a computer for processing.

Nanowires are so sensitive that they can exceed the optical wavelength range of the human eye, allowing it to respond to wavelengths of 800 nanometers, the threshold between visual light and infrared radiation. This means that he can see things in the dark when the human eye can no longer cope.

“A person using an artificial eye will acquire the ability of night vision”, – said Zhiyong Fan.

Each square centimeter of the artificial retina can accommodate about 460,000,000 nanoscale sensors, replacing an estimated 10,000,000 cells in the human retina. This suggests that it can surpass the visual accuracy of the human eye.

“I think that for about 10 years, we should see some very tangible practical applications of these bionic eyes”, – said Hongru Jung, an engineer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who was not involved in the study.

We add that the Canadian director Rob Spence set himself an eye with a camera instead of what was lost. The director can record up to 30 minutes of footage with his prosthesis in the style of the Terminator, which glows red and has a built-in camera.

The Canadian lost his sight in his right eye as a child when he was playing with his grandfather’s gun. But the idea to put an unusual prosthesis in his place came to his mind many years ago.

47-year-old Rob Spence decided to replace the eye with a prosthesis with a video camera that could record an interview. The camera in the prosthesis is not connected to Spence’s optic nerve – therefore, it does not restore the vision of the right eye.

However, the device can capture everything it sees and transmits video to the receiver, from where it can be recorded, played back on a monitor or downloaded online. The footage literally reflects Spence’s point of view – including blinking.

Source: nv.ua