The Bionic Lense: Inspired by the Human Eye
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Photo: Universität Freiburg/Gisela-und-Erwin-Sick-Professur für Mikrooptik
Lenses and apertures are the tools of photographers. Mounted onto the front of the camera, they are responsible for adjusting the focus and the brightness of the photos. Most professional photographic objectives consist of a variety of fixed lenses and apertures. Mother nature, on the other hand, can boast a far more compact and flexible system: the human eye. This optical system enables us to create a sharp image of our environment on the retina. All it needs to accomplish this is one lens and one iris: The lens provides a sharp image and the iris regulates the amount of light allowed to pass through. Prof. Dr. Hans Zappe, holder of the Gisela and Erwin Sick Chair of Micro-Optics at the University of Freiburg, wants to copy this principle. He and his team are using microtechnology and new materials to develop a lens and an iris that work together in a bionic imaging system. The team hopes to have a system for demonstration purposes ready by the end of the year 2014. The demonstration model will then serve as a basis for improving the novel components. The challenge is to find a technology that enables the lens and the iris to move in a similar way to the eye.
- A flexible lens
- Synthetic muscle fibers
- A controllable liquid iris
Portrait of the researcher
Gallery
The tunable iris and the flexible lens
Photos: Gisela-und-Erwin-Sick-Professur für Mikrooptik
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The iris | ||||
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The lense |
Pictures from the lab of Prof. Dr. Hans Zappe
Photos: Mathilde Bessert-Nettelbeck
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Researchers try different inks to optimize the iris. | They test the lens in an optical lab. | Researchers work on the inks and microelectronic devices to optimize the iris |
More infromations on the "active microoptics" projects of the German Science Foundation can be found here.
In DFG Science TV you will hear and the Freiburg researchers talk about their project.