Researchers 3D Print Prototype “Bionic Eye”

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have 3D printed a light receptive array, consisting of silver particles and semiconducting polymers, on a glass hemispherical surface. The printed material can convert light to electricity, and the researchers hope that it could one day, with more research, end up serving as a bionic eye. “Bionic eyes are usually thought of as science fiction, but now we are closer than ever using a multi-material 3D printer,” said Michael McAlpine, a researcher involved in the study. Printing electronics on a curved surface, such as that of a prosthetic eye, is challenging. This group of researchers used a custom 3D printer to overcome this issue, and successfully printed light-receptive material onto a glass hemispherical surface, as a proxy for the surface of a bionic eye.