Development of 'Insect Eye' Camera as Thick as Half a Coin

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] A domestic research team has developed a camera that mimics the compound eyes of insects to capture clear images while reducing size. It is expected to be immediately commercialized in various fields such as smartphones, reconnaissance surveillance equipment, and medical imaging devices. KAIST announced the research results of Professor Kihoon Jeong's team from the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering on the 23rd.

Ultra-small Camera Mimicking Xenos peckii

The research team developed an ultra-thin arrayed camera that mimics the compound eyes of an insect called Xenos peckii, which has characteristics such as a wide field of view, sensitivity to fast movements, and infinite focus.

In insect eyes, pigment cells exist between lenses to block light. This prevents interference between images formed by each lens. Image formation is a phenomenon where light rays from an object are reflected and refracted, then converge to create an image resembling the object. Insects have such eyes, enabling them to obtain high-resolution images.

The research team developed a camera that mimics this light-blocking structure. Like insect eyes, the camera has multiple lenses. These lenses capture the same image through the same field of view. The arranged images are then synthesized into a single image with enhanced resolution compared to the individual single-channel images before synthesis. The synthesized image secures improved resolution over the single-channel images prior to synthesis.

In particular, the researchers fabricated the lenses with a thickness of 0.74mm using a process called photolithography. This is about half the thickness of a 10-won coin.

Practically Commercializable Ultra-small Camera

The camera lenses developed by the research team are significant in pioneering another path for camera miniaturization. Existing ultra-small cameras have limitations in reducing thickness using multilayer lens structures. Also, in the case of three-lens arrays mimicking insect eyes, resolution was degraded due to optical crosstalk (image overlap) between lenses.

Professor Kihoon Jeong said, "We have developed a method to produce ultra-thin cameras that are practically commercializable," adding, "This camera will be integrated into devices requiring image acquisition and will greatly contribute to device miniaturization."

The research results were published on the 27th of last month in the international journal Light: Science & Applications.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.