According to a research paper published in ACS Nano, researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) device that mimics the retina of a human eye. The advanced AI device can rapidly recognize images captured by a smartphone or a camera and has potential applications in robotics and self-driving cars.
The device outperforms the human eye by seeing wavelengths, including ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) light, which are beyond optical frequencies. The device works on a model developed in previous research that mimics the human brain.
The device can integrate three different operations of sensing, memorization, and data processing into one. Present intelligent imaging technology used in self-driving cars requires all three operations to be separate. The versatility of the device can make self-driving cars safer by enabling them to navigate in a wide range of situations.
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According to principal investigator Tania Roy, researchers have added image sensing ability to devices that behave like the human brain’s synapses. They now have synapse-like devices that act like intelligent pixels in a camera by sensing, recognizing, and prcessing images simultaneously.
Molla Manjurul Islam, the lead author of the study, said that the device could see in all conditions. There is no reported evidence of a device that can operate simultaneously in the ultraviolet range, visible wavelength, and infrared wavelength, they added.
The engineering of unique nanoscale surfaces made of platinum ditelluride and molybdenum disulfide has enabled the device’s memory functionality and multi-wavelength sensing. Researchers said the device would be available in the market within 5-10 years.
