US researchers say they have come up with a device that produces photos by mimicking the human eye, potentially paving the way for filter-free, self-charging cameras. — Photo: Sina Schuldt/dpa
DUBLIN: A "fundamental" advance with image technology could lead to lenses that don't need filters and cameras that recharge themselves.
That's according to the US National Science Foundation (NSF), after Penn State University researchers announced recently they had come up with a device that produces photos by mimicking the human eye.
The device emulates the eye's red, green and blue photoreceptors as well as the neural network, the NSF said, praising the university's "breakthrough" in "realizing perovskite narrowband photodetection devices – from materials synthesis to device design to systems innovation".
The NSF believes the development "may represent a way around using filters found in modern cameras that lower resolution and increase cost and manufacturing complexity." In photography, filters are often used in difficult lighting conditions, to enhance colours or reduce reflection, for example.
Not only might future photographers not need to splash out on filters – though could still prefer to as the filters protect and keep clean the glass on expensive lenses – they could also be doing without heavy batteries that need charging and make a camera heavy and pricey.
"Because the researchers used perovskite materials, the new devices generate power as they absorb light, potentially opening the door to battery-free camera technology," the NSF said.
"The device structure is similar to solar cells that use light to generate electricity," said Luyao Zheng, a researcher at Penn State. "Once you shine a light on it, it will generate a current. So, like our eyes, we don't need to apply energy to capture this information from light".
The NSF funded the Penn State research, which was explained in detail by the academics involved in the journal Science Advances. – dpa
