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Electronic Eyeball Uses Curved Image Sensor
AnonymousCoward writes "US researchers have made a digital imaging system designed like the human eyeball — its image sensor is on the inside of a hemisphere like your retina. Resolution is so far low, but finding a way to use silicon sensors this way offers a way around the unavoidable distortion that results from projecting a wide angle view onto a flat sensor."
The problem there is that flat monitors are so much easier to make and take up much less room. Convincing people sitting at a desk to install spheres or bowls to use their computers is unlikely at best. Of course that is besides the point, when you consider that manufacturing such devices is probably equally hard. Much easier to develop 1 new sensor that intergrates into the rest of the system, than a system to fit 1 sensor.
Yes. Perspective correction for flat sensors (or flat film) causes all sorts of problems, from corner softness to chromatic abeeration, and that is why camera "lenses" actually have dozens of elements (i.e., actual lenses) inside them (which in turn cause other problems, like flare). With this kind of design, you can basically get away with using a single lens (for fixed focals, anyway).
All monitors were very curved for many many years. Its a great deal more difficult to make flat monitors.
Domed CMOS sensors are hard. CMOS is made by photolithography and the layers are set down by lasers etching patterns into silicon wafers.
Since silicon has a flat crystal structure, it can't easily be made into a curve, so you have to rethink the entire concept of CCD/CMOS digital optical sensors. The phrase "I could never understand why..." generally underscores a..... general lack of understanding. :-)
i'm sorry.... let's insert some definitions...
is a curved digital optical sensor "much different" than an array of 6-20 ground glass lenses?
Why.... yes... it is. :-)