Original story

SatWeb, 12.1.2020

Artificial eyes give you a better view on things

The CIBA Foundation’s Research Laboratory in Lausanne, Switzerland has completed a cherished project that dates back almost ten years. The Laboratory has succeeded in attaching an artificial eye to the human optic nerve and the occipital lobes that form the centre of our visual perception system in the brain. The artificial eyes can “see” a broader spectrum of electromagnetic waves, extending beyond the wavelengths that we normally call visible light.

Artificial eyes have been implanted in six individuals on an experimental basis, and the results have been surprisingly encouraging. These extra eyes can be switched on and off as required. Three of the test-subjects have received eyes capable of seeing ultraviolet radiation, and the other three have eyes enabling them to see infra-red images.

Those who received ultraviolet eyes report that the view of the world they impart is radically different in colour from that offered by the conventional human eye. For example green leaves show up primarily as bluish-red. This is the image of the world perceived by many insects. Subjects using the infra-red artificial eyes on the other hand commented that they saw heat-emitting objects much more clearly in conditions of total darkness than for example through infra-red sensitive cameras or binoculars, and that the objects were also visible in 3-D.

The artificial eye will be a real boon in years to come. Infra-red eyes will enable service staff to locate such things as thermal leaks in heating systems without carrying bulky detection equipment. If an individual were to be equipped with a pair of infra-red eyes and temperature-sensitive artificial skin, it would produce a fully-trained professional for the solution of many problems in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and energy transfer branches. There is already a great demand for such combi-workers in maintenance tasks for machinery, buildings, and transport vehicles.

For their part, ultraviolet eyes will enable us to follow at close hand the behaviour of pollinating insects, in order to discover which flowers attract which insects and why. This will have a considerable importance particularly for the cultivation of genetically-manipulated plants, as under ultraviolet radiation conditions - in other words, taking the “insect’s-eye-view” - their flowers may not appear the same colour as the original plant, thus causing disturbances in natural pollination. The eyes will allow growers to develop plants that appeal to useful insects and repel potential pests, and which are therefore cheaper and easier to cultivate commercially.

Naturally, defence forces and police departments have shown an interest in the research, particularly in the potential for improved night vision using infra-red eyes. According to scientists at the CIBA Foundation, it is inevitable that now the breakthrough has been made, development will accelerate and the price of these artificial eyes will come down to a level where they also inspire new free-time hobbies and probably even new sports.

Toteuma-arvio 2026

Toteuma lyhyesti

  • Ilmiön toteuma: 3/5
  • Toteuma viiden vuoden tarkkuudella: kyllä; arviointi-ikkuna on 2015–2025
  • Toteuma väljemmällä aikahorisontilla: kyllä, mutta rajatusti
  • Ilmiön ydin: näköjärjestelmään liitetty keinotekoinen silmä palauttaa näköä ja voi myöhemmin laajentaa ihmisen luonnollista havaintoaluetta.

Verkkokalvoproteesit ovat antaneet osalle sokeista rajallista valohavaintoa, ja kamerat voivat muuntaa infrapuna- tai ultraviolettitietoa ihmiselle näkyvään muotoon. Implantoitu lisäsilmä ei vielä anna tervenäköiselle suoraa yli-inhimillistä spektrinäköä.

Johtopäätös: näköproteesin ydin toteutui aikaikkunassa, mutta aistien varsinainen laajentaminen jäi tutkimusasteelle.