A research team headed by Professors Ki-Hun Jeong and Min H. Kim from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology created a novel bio-inspired camera that can mimic the visual structure of insect eyes and perform ultra-high-speed imaging with high sensitivity. This research was published in the journal Science Advances.
(A) Vision in a fast-eyed insect. Reflected light from swiftly moving objects sequentially stimulates the photoreceptors along the individual optical channels called ommatidia, of which the visual signals are separately and parallelly processed via the lamina and medulla. Each neural response is temporally summed to enhance the visual signals. The parallel processing and temporal summation allow fast and low-light imaging in dim light. (B) High-speed and high-sensitivity microlens array camera (HS-MAC). A rolling shutter image sensor is utilized to simultaneously acquire multiple frames by channel division, and temporal summation is performed in parallel to realize high speed and sensitivity even in a low-light environment. In addition, the frame components of a single fragmented array image are stitched into a single blurred frame, which is subsequently deblurred by compressive image reconstruction. Image Credit: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
Insect compound eyes can detect fast-moving objects simultaneously and, in low-light settings, increase sensitivity by integrating information over time to determine motion. Inspired by these biological phenomena, KAIST researchers have successfully constructed a low-cost, high-speed camera that overcomes conventional high-speed cameras' frame rate and sensitivity constraints.
High-quality imaging in high-speed, low-light conditions is a crucial challenge in many applications. While traditional high-speed cameras excel at catching quick motion, their sensitivity declines as frame rates rise because the time available to gather light decreases.
To address this difficulty, the research team used an approach similar to insect vision, which involved several optical channels and temporal summation. Unlike standard monocular camera systems, the bio-inspired camera has a compound-eye-like structure that enables the simultaneous acquisition of frames from distinct time periods.
This technique accumulates light during overlapping time periods for each frame, enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio. The researchers demonstrated that their bio-inspired camera could identify objects up to 40 times dimmer than those detected by conventional high-speed cameras.
The team also developed a “channel-splitting” approach to significantly boost the camera’s speed, attaining frame rates thousands of times quicker than those supported by image sensors used in packaging. In addition, a “compressed image restoration” technique was utilized to remove blur induced by frame integration and recreate sharp images.
The resulting bio-inspired camera is less than one millimeter thick and exceedingly tiny. It collects 9,120 frames per second and produces clear photos in low-light circumstances.
The research team intends to expand this technology to include advanced image processing algorithms for 3D and super-resolution imaging, with applications in biomedical imaging, mobile devices, and various other camera technologies.
We have experimentally validated that the insect-eye-inspired camera delivers outstanding performance in high-speed and low-light imaging despite its small size. This camera opens up possibilities for diverse applications in portable camera systems, security surveillance, and medical imaging.
Hyun-Kyung Kim, Study First Author and Doctoral Student, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
This study was funded by the Korea Research Institute for Defense Technology Planning and Advancement (KRIT), the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE).
Journal Reference:
Kim, H., et al. (2025) Biologically inspired microlens array camera for high-speed and high-sensitivity imaging. Science Advances. doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ads3389.