Those who thought that digital cameras were the pinnacle of optical technology have had to rethink their opinions when researchers from the University of Illinois and Northwestern University revealed their new camera that mimics the human eye. The camera collects light on a curved screen that resembles a retina and relies heavily on flexible electronics, which until now have been nearly impossible to create and manipulate.

The new curved surface makes it possible to reduce the number of lenses required and also reduces the amount of distortion that results from using a flat surface, as found in digital cameras. The retina-like surface ensures a clear image across a wide view, as opposed to digital cameras, which obtain pictures with clear resolution in the centre of the image, but become distorted towards the edges.

The flexible electronics used in the eye-like camera have opened a door-way to a host of other inventions and applications, such cameras with compound insect-like eyes, or with a 360° view based on fish eyes. Before John Rogers, professor of materials, sciences and engineering at the University of Illinois, and his team went to work, most complex electronics were etched on flat wafers, as even a slight curve posed a range of engineering and production challenges. The research team overcame these difficulties by starting with a small amount of dome-shaped elastic material, which they stretched until it was taut. Then they transferred a mesh of photodetectors to the surface and released the elastic so that it sprang back to its original curved shape.

Their worries didn’t end there, however, as the semiconductors used are brittle and often break when bent. To combat this, the team used very small photodetectors that they connected by thing wires on flexible plastic strips. According to Yonggang Huang, professor of engineering at Northwestern University, the wires formed little plastic bridges that absorbed the strain caused by the change in shape.

According to Jeremy Manier, a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, other teams are now using the new cameras to determine how to get digital signals into the brain’s vision centres, while Rogers is working with a team of bioengineers at the University of Pennsylvania to make electronic components on rubbery sheets that could prove vital in the treatment of epilepsy. Dr Brian Litt, professor of neurology and bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania, says that flexible electronics could have a significant role to play in the creation of brain-computer interfaces.

It’s been suggested that the camera could become most useful in military surveillance or space missions, where small unobtrusive cameras are often required. Flexible circuit boards could find their place in roll-up solar panels, wrap-around video displays and pressure-sensitive skins for robots.

While there is doubt as to the commercial application of such a sophisticated and no doubt expensive camera, experts have no doubt that the breakthrough promises significant advances for the future, particularly from Rogers himself.

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