Bionic compound eyes | HKUST develops insect-like pinhole compound eyes with high sensitivity and more accurate positioning

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go through Hong Kong Economic Times August 9, 2024

originalPublished in Hong Kong Economic Times Financial NewsEJ Tech Innovation Lab“

The School of Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology recently developedNew artificial compound eyeimitating the visual function of insect compound eyes, its small-range sensitivity is more than twice that of products on the market, and the cost is lower.New TechnologyIt is expected to revolutionize the development of robot vision systems and enhance their navigation, perception and decision-making capabilities, such as improving the efficiency and accuracy of drone irrigation and disaster rescue. In the long run, it will effectively improve the safety of unmanned driving and promote the development of smart cities. The research was published in an international journalScience Robot.

HKUST’s pinhole compound eye vision system imitates the visual function of insect compound eyes and can be installed on drones. (Image provided by HKUST)

Widely used with drones

Chair Professor of Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Department of Chemical and Bioengineering, HKUSTFan Zhiyongand his research team developed a pinhole compound eye vision system using new materials and structures, including a built-in hemispherical perovskite nanowire array image sensor and a lens-free pinhole array using 3D printing. The pinhole compound eye can accurately locate and has an ultra-wide field of view. The R&D team installed it on a drone to capture the dynamics of a quadruped robot in real time.

HKUST’s Fan Zhiyong (first from left) and his research team have successfully developed a pinhole compound eye vision system. (Photo courtesy of HKUST)

Fan Zhiyong is a well-known scholar in bionic optoelectronics. In 2020, he developed the world’s first spherical artificial eye with a three-dimensional retina. He explained that the advantages of the compound eye design are simplicity, lightness and low cost. In certain types of robotic applications, such as drone swarms flying in close formation, it has ideal development potential.