RESEARCH BRIEFINGS17 June 2026A general-purpose artificial-intelligence vision system for use in image-sensing devices has been developed by embedding fundamentals of core computer-vision operations into a light-manipulating planar material called an optical metasurface. A prototype enables accurate, real-time perception and processing across diverse tasks, suggesting that this could be a solution for rapid, low-energy, on-device vision intelligence.This is a summary of: Peng, J. et al. Optical metasurfaces for general vision processing on the edge. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10635-z (2026).Access optionsAccess Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journalsGet Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription27,99 € / 30 dayscancel any timeLearn moreSubscribe to this journalReceive 52 print issues and online access199,00 € per yearonly 3,83 € per issueLearn moreRent or buy this articlePrices vary by article typefrom$1.95to$39.95Learn morePrices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkoutdoi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-01891-0ReferencesXiang, J. et al. Nature 638, 769–778 (2025).Article PubMed Google Scholar Blankemeier, L. et al. Nature 652, 1318–1328 (2026).Article PubMed Google Scholar Shastri, B. J. et al. Nature Photonics 15, 102–114 (2021).Article Google Scholar Liu, Z. et al. in Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Comput. Vision 9992–10002 (2021).Zhou, F. & Chai, Y. Nature Electron. 3, 664–671 (2020).Article Google Scholar Download references Read the paper: Optical metasurfaces for general vision processing on the edge Computer vision accelerated using photons and electrons A glasses-free 3D display uses AI to direct images straight to the viewer’s eyesSubjectsMachine learningOptics and photonicsLatest on:Machine learningOptics and photonicsJobs Associate or Senior Editor (Nature Geoscience – Biogeochemistry)Job Title: Associate or Senior Editor (Nature Geoscience - Biogeochemistry) Organisation: Nature Portfolio Location: Shanghai, Beijing, Milan and P...Shanghai, Beijing, Milan and PuneSpringer Nature LtdAssociate or Senior Editor (Nature Geoscience - Solid Earth)Job Title: Associate or Senior Editor (Nature Geoscience - Solid Earth) Organisation: Nature Portfolio Location: Shanghai, Beijing, Milan and Pune ...Shanghai, Beijing, Milan and PuneSpringer Nature LtdAssociate or Senior Editor, Nature Reviews PhysicsJob Title: Associate or Senior Editor, Nature Reviews Physics Location: Shanghai, Beijing or Madrid – Hybrid working model Applications Deadline: 8...Shanghai, Beijing or Madrid – Hybrid working modelSpringer Nature LtdPostdoctoral Research Fellow in Semiconductor Devices at NIMSNIMS invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Semiconductor Devices (approx. 4M-6M JPY per annum, at Tsukuba, Japan).Tsukuba, Japan (JP)National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS)Permanent Researcher in Next-Generation Semiconductor Devices at NIMSNIMS invites applications for a Permanent Researcher in Next-Generation Semiconductor Devices (approx. 6M-10M JPY per annum, at Tsukuba, Japan).Tsukuba, Japan (JP)National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS)