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Related Concept Videos

Visual System

Visual System

Light enters the eye through the cornea, a transparent, dome-shaped surface covering the surface of the eyeball that helps to direct and focus incoming light. This light is then channeled toward the pupil, an adjustable opening whose size is controlled by the iris. The iris, a pigmented muscle, regulates the amount of light entering the eye by contracting or dilating the pupil, thereby ensuring optimal light levels for clear vision.
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...

Vision

Vision

Vision is the result of light being detected and transduced into neural signals by the retina of the eye. This information is then further analyzed and interpreted by the brain. First, light enters the front of the eye and is focused by the cornea and lens onto the retina—a thin sheet of neural tissue lining the back of the eye. Because of refraction through the convex lens of the eye, images are projected onto the retina upside-down and reversed.

The Retina

The Retina

The retina is a layer of nervous tissue at the back of the eye that transduces light into neural signals. This process, called phototransduction, is carried out by rod and cone photoreceptor cells in the back of the retina.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 14, 2026

The Optokinetic Response as a Quantitative Measure of Visual Acuity in Zebrafish

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1 kHz 2D Visual Motion Sensor Using 20 × 20 Silicon Retina Optical Sensor and DSP Microcontroller.

Shih-Chii Liu, MinHao Yang, Andreas Steiner

IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems

|April 17, 2015

Summary

This study presents a bio-inspired optical motion sensor for miniature robots. The compact, low-power sensor efficiently computes 2D translational motion from complex scenes at high speeds.

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Last Updated: Apr 14, 2026

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Area of Science:

Neuromorphic Engineering
Robotics and Automation
Bio-inspired Computing

Background:

Neuromorphic vision sensors mimic biological retinas, incorporating local background intensity adaptation.
Existing systems often require custom solutions for motion algorithm validation.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a bio-inspired optical motion sensor for miniature robotic and aerial platforms.
To enable validation of various motion algorithms without custom hardware.

Main Methods:

Integration of a 20x20 continuous-time CMOS silicon retina vision sensor with local gain control.
Utilizing a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) microcontroller for motion computation.
Implementation of the image interpolation algorithm (I2A) for 2D translational motion detection.

Main Results:

The system computes global 2D translational motion vectors at a 1 kHz sample rate.
Achieved computation speeds up to ±1000 pixels/s with low computational cost (<5k instruction cycles per frame).
The 6g PCB sensor consumes 170 mW, with the DSP at 12% utilization for motion computation.

Conclusions:

The developed sensor provides an efficient, bio-inspired solution for motion sensing in miniature platforms.
It facilitates algorithm development and validation for robotic and aerial applications.
The system demonstrates high performance in terms of speed, power consumption, and computational efficiency.