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  • Review Article
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Bioinspired and biointegrated vision for artificial sight convergence

Nature Reviews Bioengineering (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

The long-standing effort to achieve artificial sight can be classified into two complementary approaches. The first is the development of bioinspired optics and optoelectronics for machine vision, which takes cues from the different ocular structures and intricate retinal functions found across various species, and aims to enhance the visual capabilities of machines. The second approach focuses on biointegrated vision, which seeks to integrate intraocular prosthetics within the biological vision system to restore or enhance the sight of the visually impaired. As these two approaches evolve, their convergence is becoming more apparent, underlining the growing need for shared knowledge and collaboration. In this Review, we discuss bioinspired and biointegrated vision placing emphasis on visual devices that mimic the structures of the natural eyes and the information-processing capabilities of biological visual systems. Furthermore, we highlight opportunities for reciprocal exchange and collaborative development across these two disciplines.

Key points

  • By replicating the structures of biological eyes, bioinspired optics can improve adaptability for light acquisition.

  • By mimicking the functions of retinal cells, bioinspired optoelectronics can achieve efficient in-sensor computing.

  • Nanotechnology enables intraocular prosthetics to create a seamless bioprosthetic interface, although aligning prosthetic signals with neural signals remains a challenge.

  • Bioinspired and biointegrated vision are converging towards artificial sight. Their crosstalk in material selection and device physics opens new opportunities.

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Fig. 1: Bioinspired and biointegrated vision.
Fig. 2: Adaptive optics inspired by ocular structures.
Fig. 3: Bioinspired visual information processing.
Fig. 4: Biointegrated visual prosthesis.
Fig. 5: Technology fusion between bioinspired and biointegrated visual devices.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (62425405), MOST National Key Technologies R&D Programme (SQ2022YFA1200118-04), Research Grant Council of Hong Kong (CRS_PolyU502/22) and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (WZ4X and YWE4).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Physics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

    Yifei Yang, Yifei Wang, Chaoyi Zhu, Zhengdao Xie, Zhaoqing Wang & Yang Chai

  2. Joint Research Centre of Microelectronics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

    Yifei Yang, Yifei Wang, Chaoyi Zhu, Zhengdao Xie, Zhaoqing Wang & Yang Chai

  3. Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Zhengsheng Qin

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Contributions

Y.C. conceived the idea and guided the project. Y.Y., Y.W., C.Z., Z.X., Z.Q. and Y.C. wrote and edited the article. Z.W. provided guidance on the display items.

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Correspondence to Yang Chai.

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Yang, Y., Wang, Y., Zhu, C. et al. Bioinspired and biointegrated vision for artificial sight convergence. Nat Rev Bioeng (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-025-00324-3

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