Evolution of natural eyes and biomimetic imaging devices for effective image acquisition

Abstract

In the natural evolutionary process, biological creatures have developed diverse visual structures apt for their habitational environments. These natural vision structures have inspired the development of artificial vision systems. These systems have numerous advantages in image acquisition compared to conventional imaging devices, including high visual acuity, motion sensitivity, simple accommodation, and low optical aberration. These advantages have contributed to the advances of various imaging devices for autonomous vehicles, mobile electronics, visual prostheses, and machine vision systems. Here, we reviewed recent advances in bio-inspired artificial vision systems that have mimicked the optical and retinal advantages of natural vision structures. These artificial vision systems have overcome many critical challenges in conventional image systems and presented potential for the next-generation image acquisition systems. The remaining challenges and the future outlook are also briefly described in the conclusion section.