Omnidirectional artificial eye developed, cutting power and data use by more than 99%

Researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology have developed a new type of artificial eye, or biomimetic eye, that provides an omnidirectional field of view while substantially reducing power and data use.

According to a paper published Aug. 17, 2026, in the international journal Nature Materials, a research team led by Professor Pan Zhiyong of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology proposed a bionic eye system based on a hemispherical, stacked artificial retina.

The sensor achieved a resolution of 1,905 pixels per inch (ppi) and a total of 367,500 pixels. It provides full-color imaging across wavelengths of 300 to 800 nanometers (nm) and corrects image distortion across a field of view exceeding 160 degrees.

The research team drew its design inspiration from the visual structure of cyprinid fish. These fish have a wide, undistorted field of view even in dim environments, thanks to their curved retinas and cone cells arranged at different depths.

The researchers adopted a hemispherical structure with red, green and blue retinal layers stacked in series. Aligning each layer with the focal point of its corresponding color of light reduces chromatic aberration, while an array of perovskite-metal oxide heterojunction nanowires mimics the function of nerve cells.

This structure supports event-based photoresponse and operates on its own power. Compared with frame-based imaging, it reduced bandwidth requirements by more than 99.95% and achieved 98.6% motion-recognition accuracy.

The research team said the device could improve the performance of next-generation intelligent systems, including drones, autonomous vehicles and robots.