This Bionic Lens Will Give You More Than Just 20/20 Vision

Biological augmentation is a staple of science fiction that never goes out of style. Taking a miracle IQ-increasing pill, having binocular vision, or using robotic arms to lift a car are all commonplace. Yet we never tire of them, because, let’s face it — those all sound really cool to have. Ocumetics Technology Corporation is doing its part to make sci-fi a reality through its Bionic Lens. This lens may be capable of much more than just 20/20 vision.

Stanford’s New 4D Camera Gives Robots, VR, and Cars Wider View

In 1996, two Stanford professors, Marc Levoy and Pat Hanrahan, published a paper about light field photography. Light field photography creates a 4D image by capturing a 2D view with data about the direction and distance of the light hitting the lens. Users can refocus their images after it’s taken because of that data about the light in the photo. An example of its benefit is that robots can refocus their vision when it’s raining or if something obscures their camera.