Arrays of digital cameras that decide the final picture displayed, are flat instead of hemispherical, which result in a lower quality of the displayed picture. This obstacle has been rectified by the invention of the bionic camera, which has a hemispheric array, by Prof. John Rogers from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The human eye receives light, which casts a picture on the retina, the hemispherical shape of which allows light to be received bypassing all losses, and sends a final picture to the brain. Digital cameras can be fitted with additional lenses to increase the picture quality but these are heavy, large and expensive.

On the other hand, the hemispheric array of the bionic camera is just one lens with a special silicone pixel plate, which has a wireframe carrying 256 pixels. Prof. Rogers insists that the number of pixels is low because the prototype is still in the research state and can later be increased. They can only hope the prototype is mass-produced soon so that they get better quality pictures at an affordable price. The funny thing about technology is that it changes too soon, leaving earlier ones obsolete. However, the Bionic-camera looks like a promising product.

Via: Gadgets-Reviews