Flexible Miniaturized Camera Array Inspired by Natural Visual Systems

Author

Aldalali, B. ; Fernandes, J. ; Almoallem, Yousef ; Hongrui Jiang

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA

Volume

22

Issue

6

fYear

2013

fDate

Dec. 2013

Firstpage

1254

Lastpage

1256

Abstract

We report on a flexible microcamera array inspired by natural visual systems. The camera array is a hybrid artificial visual system that combines the large field of view (FOV) of compound eyes together with the high resolution of mammalian eyes. The camera array allows for maximum flexibility and instantaneous reconfigurability to observe a wide FOV. The microcamera array takes advantage of different fabrication techniques including 3-D printing and ultraviolet (UV) liquid phase photopolymerization, as well as utilizing flexible polymers. The array consists of three miniature cameras, each composed of a 1 mm² stand-alone image sensor and a 0.9-mm-diameter microlens. The lenses were fabricated by utilizing the surface tension of UV curable transparent polymers on Teflon coated substrates. The structure of the array was fabricated using 3-D printing. The miniaturized cameras were connected by a flexible and stretchable polymer. Images from the cameras in the array were stitched together to provide an FOV of 130°.

Keywords

cameras; eye; image sensors; microlenses; polymerisation; polymers; printing; 3-D printing; Teflon coated substrates; UV curable transparent polymers; compound eyes; fabrication techniques; field of view; flexible miniaturized camera array; flexible polymers; high resolution; mammalian eyes; microcamera array; microlens; natural visual systems; size 0.9 mm; stand-alone image sensor; surface tension; ultraviolet liquid phase photopolymerization; Arrays; Cameras; Compounds; Fabrication; Image sensors; Lenses; Microoptics; Compound eye; flexible electronics; liquid phase photopolymerization; microlens; miniaturized camera array;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Microelectromechanical Systems, Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1057-7157

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/JMEMS.2013.2284406

Filename

6632875