New ‘Artificial Eye’ Gives Blind People New Hope

A tray of example glass eyes on display. Reuters
A tray of example glass eyes on display. Reuters
TT
20

New ‘Artificial Eye’ Gives Blind People New Hope

A tray of example glass eyes on display. Reuters
A tray of example glass eyes on display. Reuters

A team of US researchers has, for the first time, developed a fully 3-D printed array of light receptors on a hemispherical surface. This discovery marks a significant step toward creating a “bionic eye” that could someday help blind people see or improve sighted people see better.

Michael McAlpine, a researcher from the University of Minnesota, said: “Bionic eyes are usually thought of as science fiction, but now we are closer than ever using a multi-material 3-D printer.”

Researchers used a custom-built 3-D printer, and they started with a base ink of silver particles. Then, they used semiconducting polymer materials to print photodiodes, which convert light into electricity. The entire process takes about an hour, the German News Agency reported.

The Techxplore website cited McAlpine who said that the most surprising part of the process was the 25 percent efficiency in converting the light into electricity they achieved with the fully 3-D-printed semiconductors.

McAlpine said the next steps aim to create a prototype with more receptors that are even more efficient. They'd also like to find a way to print on a soft material that can be implanted into a real eye.

McAlpine's drive to create a bionic eye is a little more personal.

“My mother is blind in one eye, and whenever I talk about my work, she says, When are you going to print me a bionic eye?” he said.



SDAIA Receives Recognition for Innovative Projects at WSIS Summit in Geneva

SDAIA’s nominated projects represented a distinguished set of technological initiatives that demonstrated innovation, relevance, and impact in their respective fields - SPA
SDAIA’s nominated projects represented a distinguished set of technological initiatives that demonstrated innovation, relevance, and impact in their respective fields - SPA
TT
20

SDAIA Receives Recognition for Innovative Projects at WSIS Summit in Geneva

SDAIA’s nominated projects represented a distinguished set of technological initiatives that demonstrated innovation, relevance, and impact in their respective fields - SPA
SDAIA’s nominated projects represented a distinguished set of technological initiatives that demonstrated innovation, relevance, and impact in their respective fields - SPA

The Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA) received certificates for its nominated projects, which were recognized among the best entries at the 2025 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Prizes held in Geneva, Switzerland, highlighting SDAIA’s innovative contributions to the fields of data and artificial intelligence (AI).

SDAIA’s nominated projects represented a distinguished set of technological initiatives that demonstrated innovation, relevance, and impact in their respective fields.

Out of 973 submissions from various countries, they were chosen after an expert evaluation conducted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), SPA reported.

The nominated projects included the government cloud-computing platform “Deem,” which provides integrated and flexible cloud services for government entities; the “Nafath” application for biometric identity verification; the “Serti” service within the “Tawakkalna” app that enables users to display their certified academic qualifications; the “Tahseen” project, which uses AI to restore and enhance historical media; and the “Allam” and “Sawtak” projects, both of which represent a significant leap in supporting and processing Arabic using large language models and speech recognition technologies.

These achievements reflect the Kingdom’s commitment, through SDAIA, to reinforcing its global standing as a trusted authority in data and AI, advancing the national digital transformation agenda, and supporting the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. They also contribute to enhancing the Kingdom’s regional and international competitiveness in technology and innovation.