Invention May Bring Smart Bionic Eye In Sight

The invention from RMIT University combines sensing, memory and information processing within the same system, reducing the need to constantly move data between separate sensors, memory banks and processors. While still an early-stage research demonstration, the neuromorphic vision innovation could dramatically reduce the amount of data and energy required to perform complex visual tasks. RMIT has an international patent application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) for the invention. Led by Professor Sumeet Walia at RMIT's Centre for Opto-electronic Materials and Sensors (COMAS), the work builds on breakthroughs involving super thin semiconductor materials that could underpin advanced robotics and low-energy AI systems. 'Nature has already solved many of the challenges we're trying to address in electronics,' Walia said. 'The human eye and brain work together incredibly efficiently, processing vast amounts of information using remarkably little energy. Our research is helping lay the foundations for technologies that work in a more similar way.'