In order to seize the major strategic opportunity for the development of artificial intelligence, Continental clearly pointed out in the "New Generation of Artificial Intelligence Development Plan" that it should vigorously carry out research on brain-like visual sensing technology with imaging function. As a new type of device with optical information perception, information processing, information storage, logical thinking and judgment functions, neuromorphic brain-like vision hardware is the core component for building brain-inspired visual perception and realizing ultra-low-power brain-like storage and computing, and has shown great development potential in the fields of artificial intelligence, machine vision, smart home, autonomous driving, industrial detection, biomedical imaging and smart health. The traditional neuromorphic vision system can effectively obtain and process the visual information of the external environment by integrating the sensing unit, the storage unit and the computing unit, but there are also challenges such as information redundancy, excessive power consumption and insufficient efficiency caused by the separation of sensor, storage and computing. Compared with the traditional artificial brain-like vision technology, the advanced biological brain-like vision system has the advantages of ultra-low power consumption, wide spectrum response, parallel processing, adaptability, transplantation repair, and high conformality, which gives the infinite reverie of bionic brain-like vision. Therefore, how to develop high-energy bionic eyes with biological brain-like visual ability has become one of the hot issues in this field.
Recently, Academician Huang Wei of the Basic Science Center of Flexible Electronics of Northwestern Polytechnical University, Professor Liu Juqing of Nanjing University of Technology and Associate Professor Liu Zhengdong jointly reported a biological eye-inspired self-driven retinal morphological eye (SHR-E) based on ionic gel heterojunction photoreceptors. It has a wide spectral perception (365 to 970 nm), a wide field of view (180°), and light synaptic (double pulse dissimilation index of 153%), enabling optical imaging and motion tracking functions of biological vision systems. Importantly, the bionic eye uses ions as the medium of signal transmission, similar to the way signals are transmitted in living organisms, enabling wide field of view detection and efficient visual signal processing without the need for external energy input. It is worth pointing out that due to the self-healing properties of ionic gel, the bionic retina has the ability to transplant and repair, and by replacing the dysfunctional photoreceptors, the retina can be transplanted and repaired, and then the visual function can be restored. In addition, its excellent conformal capability allows it to easily fit any geometry, providing endless possibilities for future applications in complex and multi-scenes. This research work not only provides a new direction for the development of artificial vision system, but also lays a foundation for in-depth exploration in the field of bioelectronics and brain-inspired vision. The related research work was published in the internationally renowned journal Nature Communications under the title of "A bionic self-driven retinomorphic eye with ionogel photosynaptic retina". This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and Jiangsu Provincial Distinguished Professors. Original link:
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-47374-6. Source: Frontier Science Center for Flexible Electronics