Al shell sclera & W lm contact Ionic liquid humour Indium adhesion layer Aperture Lens As the publication notes, the spherical human eyeball gives us an exceptionally wide field of view, high resolution, along with other qualities. Such a field of vision is extremely useful, Prof. Fan said, but difficult to replicate due to its curved surface. “Artificial eyes, currently used in hospitals and enabled by flat-surfaced integrated circuit chips, can only imitate part of the human retina, providing blurred vision. In , I came up with the idea to use nanowires and external electronic circuitry to enable high-density sensors on a curved surface. The resulting biomimetic eye prototype has times more sensors on the entire artificial retina than the human eye.” This technology, with its ability to deliver high-resolution imaging and sensitivity to a large range of light intensities as well, can be integrated into medical robots to take care of patients. It could also cater to the visually impaired when the researchers locate suitable bio-compatible materials, Prof. Fan said. The leading researcher joined HKUST in and has since focused on nanoelectronic design, nanofabrication, and nanomaterials, including development of self-cleaning and anti-reflection micro/nanostructured films, a study of nanostructured gas sensing materials and devices for environmental monitoring, as well as his recent artificial eye prototype. “I was attracted by HKUST’s global ranking, as well as its flat hierarchy and academic freedom. And, a er the first glimpse of the sea view here, I decided that this was the place to be,” he said. Born in remote Qinghai province in Mainland China, Prof. Fan’s family moved to a small county in Shaanxi province before he was eight. There, he engaged in weekly visits to his uncle’s bookshelves to read popular books on science, gradually gravitating toward self-learning ahead of what rof. FAN Zhiyong, Electronic and Computer Engineering, has always drawn inspiration from the cosmos and science fiction. As a preschooler, he created paper models of spacecra and vehicles a er seeing a poster with Planet Earth, spaceships, and astronauts on his kindergarten wall. Now in his s, he has recently celebrated his th anniversary at HKUST by achieving a high-profile publication in Nature, a leading global science journal, with his research team. The article is based on Prof. Fan’s far-sighted idea for improving the capabilities of artificial eyes a er watching Star Trek, I, Robot, and other out-of-this-world series. “I thought about making a ‘super human eye’ to be used both in humanoid robots and for the visually challenged,” he said. “My students thought it was yet another crazy idea of the professor.” Instead, it turned out to a visionary advance, leading to the Nature article, “A Biomimetic Eye with a Hemispherical Perovskite Nanowire Array Retina”, published in May . Since the article appeared, authored by his research team and collaborators from the University of California, Berkeley, he has been inundated with emails about the invention: the world’s first spherical artificial eye with three-dimensional retina, also referred to as the Electrochemical Eye. Prof. Fan Zhiyong’s science ction- inspired research into biomimetic vision points the way to robotics advances and fresh hope for the visually impaired, in addition to a prestigious Nature article P Prof. Fan Zhiyong and the scenic campus that helped to draw him to HKUST. 10 IN FOCUS Mid-career Spotlight An eye on the future
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