The insect-inspired robot eye offers 220° view and motion tracking.

Taking inspiration from the compound eyes of insects, researchers created a lensless compound eye with motion-tracking capabilities and an incredibly wide field of vision.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology team created the compound eye by combining a 3D-printed pinhole honeycomb optical structure with a hemispherical, high-speed perovskite nanowire (PNA) sensing array. density.

The compound eye, integrated into an aerial vehicle, effectively tracked a ground-based quadruped robot.

“This unique air-ground collaborative robotic interaction shows the attractive potential of using our compound eye system to develop multi-robot collaboration and robot swarm technology in the future,” said Yu Zhou of the department of electronic and computer engineering of the institution in a press release.

Innovative pinhole compound eye

Natural compound eyes have remarkable visual capabilities, such as rapid motion tracking and a wide field of view (FoV), which make them very attractive for practical uses, especially with robotic systems.

This sparked much research into artificial compound eyes, much of it done by transferring a microlens array to curved substrates and combining it with commercial planar image sensors.

Imaging of the compound eye is limited by complex transfer processes, leading to mismatches between 3D structures and planar imagers. To solve this problem, two methods have been explored: shaping optical structures on curved surfaces via various techniques and using deformable electronics for flexible configurations.

According to the researchers, while these approaches address some challenges, issues such as warp stability and pixel distribution persist.

In this study, the team developed a compound pinhole vision system for wide-range imaging and precise target positioning. Two features made this possible.

First, a 3D-printed lensless pinhole array with a customizable layout regulates the incident light and eliminates the blind zone between neighboring ommatidia. An ommatidia in an insect’s compound eyes contains a group of photoreceptor cells surrounded by supporting cells and pigments.

Second, an inherent hemispherical PNA imager with high pixel density enlarges the imaging field. These features address the challenges of structural instability and limited pixel count.

Wide imaging, robotic integration

The integrated pinhole compound eye (PHCE) system helped researchers capture ultra-wide-angle panoramic images with a field of view (FoV) of 140°.

Additionally, they developed an advanced PHCE binocular system with an extended FoV of 220°, which enables stereoscopic vision and facilitates successful 3D target positioning.

The researchers said: “The integrated system can acquire ultra-wide-angle panoramic images with a field of view of 140 degrees and an extended field of view of 220 degrees in a binocular system. »

The integration of the PHCE system into a flying drone made it possible to follow the movement of a quadruped on the ground. The team notes that the innovative air-ground collaboration highlights the potential for multi-robot cooperation and swarm technology development.

The researchers point out that improvements could include increasing pixel density through automated back-contact connections, using scanning methods for higher resolution and infinite depth-of-field imaging, and optimizing of perovskite engineering for enhanced motion detection.

With advances in response time and sensitivity potential, the system could track ultra-fast movements even in low light conditions. Its adaptable design allows for land and water use.

Additionally, the team says the system’s flexible structure allows upgrades for more sophisticated functions.

Details of the team’s research have been published in the journal Scientific robotics.