Quest for visual system of the brain to create artificial vision

The neuromorphic retina is a very large scale integrated (VLSI) circuit whose structure and function are designed to mimic those of retinal neuronal network. We have developed a neuromorphic retina model to study the function of retinal circuits in natural visual environment. The model consists of analog VLSI circuit and Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), enabling to reproduce responses of major types of retinal neuron in real time. Using the neuromorphic retina, we conducted “virtual in vivo experiments” in which neuronal images of retinal neurons responding to natural scenes are reproduced in real time. We also applied the neuromorphic retina to robotic vision and visual prosthetics. The neuromorphic device and system provide a novel methodology to advance research not only in electronic engineering but also in neuroscience.