wide-angle lens combines human and insect vision

wide-angle lens combines human and insect vision
image by jo mcculty © ohio state university

a professor at the ohio state university has invented a lens that combines the focusing ability of humans with the wide-angle view of insects to capture images with depth. the results could be smartphones that rival the photo quality of digital cameras, and surgical imaging that enables doctors to see inside the body like never before. the prototype is made of a flexible transparent polymer filled with a gelatinous solution similar to the fluids found inside the human eye. the new development consists of a composite of several separate dome-shaped fluid pockets with small domes sitting atop a larger one. each is adjustable; fluid is pumped into and out of the meniscus, such that different parts of it expand and contract to change the overall shape, direction and focal depth.

‘our eye can change focus. an insect eye is made of many small optical components that can’t change focus but give a wide view. we can combine the two,’ explained yi zhao, associate professor of biomedical engineering and ophthalmology at ohio state. ‘what we get is a wide-angle lens with depth of field.’ measuring 5mm across, the shape-changing device could potentially offer the same focusing capability as multiple moving parts in a single stationary apparatus, which would make for smaller and lighter cameras and microscopes.

yi zhao holds the prototype polymer lens that combines features of the human eye and insect eye
image by jo mcculty © ohio state university

image by jo mcculty © ohio state university