Friday, May 16, 2025
Are you smarter than a sixth grader? Four students from Long Beach Middle School might have you second-guessing that.
The team of students has been named regional winner of the Toshiba ExploraVision competition for “Visionary,” an artificial eye concept that uses AI and microchip technology to restore eyesight for people with various levels of blindness.
ExploraVision is an online science and technology competition for students across the United States and Canada. It encourages participants to propose innovative improvements to existing technologies. For their entry, Edward Grossman, Cole O’Connor, Sam O’Donoghue and Sullivan Limmer—guided by their coach, middle school teacher Walter Kramme—designed a concept for an artificial eye that mimics the function of a natural one. The project integrates AI with a central microchip to serve as the communication hub between the artificial eye and the brain.
“Our view for the future for this project is that AI will assist blind people by helping them see clearly like a regular eye,” Limmer said. “In the future, I believe that AI will be able to project a vision in the blind person’s AI eye to show them what it’s like to see for the first time or again.”
The device would include artificial versions of the retina, cornea, pupil, lens, iris and muscles. The microchip would be implanted in the occipital lobe of the brain, the region responsible for vision, and would wirelessly connect to the artificial eye components inserted into the eye socket. The students estimate the surgical procedure would take approximately one hour, followed by a recovery period of about one and a half weeks.
“We came up with a lot of ideas, but it came down to this because blindness is a major problem in this world,” O’Donoghue said. “43 million people live in total darkness, 300 million live with serious vision impairments.”
At an April 10 celebration in the middle school auditorium, the students presented an overview of their artificial eye concept, detailing its design and intended function. The four students also held a Q&A session for their peers and faculty, they addressed questions about functionality, cost, side effects, cybersecurity and development timelines. The team shared that refining and integrating the microchip and AI components to accurately mimic natural vision was among their biggest challenges.
The students were awarded Chromebooks and certificates in recognition of their regional win. Additionally, the celebration featured remarks from school administrators and supporters, who commended the team’s creativity and dedication. Superintendent Jennifer Gallagher, whose children are legally blind, shared a personal connection to the project and offered heartfelt praise for the students’ work.
The students plan to continue developing their concepts, with hopes that future technological progress will help bring ideas like theirs into practical application.
