Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology created the soft robotic eye using a hydrogel-based lens that automatically adjusts focus without a separate power supply.

The system can resolve ultra-fine details across the visible spectrum, distinguishing features like 4-micrometer gaps on tick claws, 5-micrometer fungal filaments, and 9-micrometer hairs on an ant’s legs.

This autofocus lens demonstrates high sensitivity by discerning tiny features such as a 4-micrometer gap on tick claws, 5-micrometer filaments, and 9-micrometer ant leg stubble.

Future prospects include expanding perceptual capabilities to mimic biological eye structures, such as a cat’s vertical slit pupil or a cuttlefish retina with unconventional spectral sensitivity.

Graphene oxide particles in the hydrogel absorb light and heat up, causing the hydrogel to contract and pull the lens to focus; when light lessens, the gel swells and refocuses.

The lens is a hydrogel embedded with graphene oxide particles that trigger focus adjustments through light-driven heating and cooling by changing the hydrogel’s water content.

Potential applications include soft robots with complex vision sans electronics, wearable devices, and autonomous systems that can operate in challenging environments.

Applications also encompass wearables, autonomous machines on uneven or dangerous terrains, and replacements for traditional glass elements in optical microscopes.

The artificial lens sits in a silicon polymer housing with a ring around the lens, mirroring aspects of the human eye’s mechanical structure.

The hydrogel’s liquid-like and solid-like state switching lets the lens flex and bend safely, emulating biological eye mechanics.

A soft, squishy robotic eye with an autofocus lens has been developed, inspired by the human eye and designed to operate without external power.

Researchers are integrating the lens into a microfluidic system with responsive hydrogel valves, enabling light-powered autonomous operation for intelligent cameras.

The goal is to use the same hydrogel to power autonomous camera systems within a microfluidic framework, combining sensing and actuation.

Overall, this work marks a shift toward soft, electricity-free perception in robots, tackling sensory processing in flexible, non-electrically powered systems.