Bionic Vision

1By Elliot Whaley , Villanova University

By Elliot Whaley , Villanova University 2

What is it and why use it?

• Bionic vision refers to the application of biological methods in nature combined with study of engineering and computer science.

• The WHO, world health organization, estimated that in 2002 there were 161 million (about 2.6% of the world population) visually impaired people in the world.

• Bionic vision is used to cure blindness, aid the blind or improve normal vision.

• To improve quality of life

• To help aid in professions such as military soldiers, doctors and firefighters.

By Elliot Whaley , Villanova University 3

Major Areas of Bionic Vision

Wearable Vision aidsExample: EyeTap

Strengths-Can record your life and play it back to you while improving vision.

Weakness-Problem of inequiveillance which is the imbalance between surveillance and sousveillance.

Contact lenses with a computer chip Example: lenses created by the University of WashStrengths- Portable, requires no surgery Weaknesses- Have not been created yet, energy source not yet developed, only available for people with eyes

Medical Procedures /aiding the blind Example: Brain machine interface systems (BCI) Strengths – Can give vision back to the blind or aid those who are blind. Weakness-Can be cumbersome due to its size. Costly,May involve surgery

BCI(Brain Computer Interface)

By Elliot Whaley , Villanova University 5

Medical Procedures/Curi

ng Blindness• William Dobelle's first prototype

was an implant in to a blind man, in 1978. A single-array BCI containing 68 electrodes was implanted onto his visual cortex.

• In 2002, Jens Naumann one of 16 paying patients to receive Dobelle’s second generation implant, one of the first commercial uses of BCIs.

• SWAN system which stands for System for Wearable Audio Navigation. It provides audio guidance to a person in their surrounding with or without vision.

By Elliot Whaley , Villanova University 6

EyeTapKey Features:• Functions as a camera and display device• Improves vision• Ability to playback past events • Wearable camera phone • Surveillance system • A lifelong cyborglog

Methods: Adaptive Optics

Adaptive optics • a technique originally

designed to sharpen images for military surveillance

• adaptive optics allows people to see at high resolution

• David R. Williams of the University of Rochester has developed an approach to obtain this vision

• this method is used to help cure bad vision

By Elliot Whaley , Villanova University 8

Contact LensesPrototype created by Babax Parviz at the University of Washington.

Current results:• Contains electronic circuit and red LED

lights for display.• Tested on a rabbit for 20 minutes with no

side effects.

Expected Results:• A display of a few pixels should be

operational fairly quickly. • Zoom into distant objects and display

useful information in front of the eye.• Wirelessly connect to devices such as

laptops and iphones.

Comparison of Current Technologies

EyeTap SWAN Contacts Implant of electrodes

Aids the blind

yes yes no Yes

Video Capabilities

Yes No Yes no

Portability

High Very Low Very High Low

Improves vision beyond 20/20

no No yes no

Proposed Work

• To use of photoelectric cells implanted in the contact lens developed at the University of Washington to take power from solar energy and an antenna to allow the contacts to function any where

• Just one square meter of a solar panel has the ability to power a 100W light blub.

• . Some advantages of using solar energy are that solar energy is free, needs no fuel and produces no waste or pollution. Some disadvantages are it cost a lot of money to make and will not work well at night