Anti-distortion bioinspired camera with an inhomogeneous photo-pixel array
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The bioinspired camera, comprising a single lens and a curved image sensor-a photodiode array on a curved surface-, was born of flexible electronics. Its economical build lends itself well to space-constrained machine vision applications. The curved sensor, much akin to the retina, helps image focusing, but the curvature also creates a problem of image distortion, which can undermine machine vision tasks such as object recognition. Here we report an anti-distortion single-lens camera, where 4096 silicon photodiodes arrayed on a curved surface in a nonuniform pattern assimilated to the distorting optics are the key to anti-distortion engineering. That is, the photo-pixel distribution pattern itself is warped in the same manner as images are warped, which correctively reverses distortion. Acquired images feature no appreciable distortion across a 120° horizontal view, as confirmed by their neural-network recognition accuracies. This distortion correction via photo-pixel array reconfiguration is a form of in-sensor computing.
Source: Nature Communications
Institutions: Harvard University, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Institute for Basic Science, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Korea University, Korea University of Science and Technology, Pusan National University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Center for Functional Nanomaterials
Language: English
Topic: CCD and CMOS Imaging Sensors
Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $6,790
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, National Research Foundation, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, National Research Foundation of Korea, Institute for Basic Science, Samsung, Office of Science, Division of Materials Research, Basic Energy Sciences
Awards: G1210759672, G1540291181, G1639952346, G1847291448, G241279073, G2497189138, G252699245, Center for Integrated Quantum Materials, G357145406, G3850097093, G4662383146, G4894500316, G4972998915, G5633341255, G5765906131, G5908975656, G6075373719, G6733788163, G6965541988, G7463374569, G8640644076, G872144517, G875209366
OpenAlex ID: W4400729341