Research on the development of visual cortical prostheses started in Bremen within the Creative Unit "I-See", which was supported from 2013 until 2017 and received additional support as a Focus Group at the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg Institute for Advanced Study (HWK).

Since December 2020, the European Research Area Network "NEURON" is funding a new initiative for "I-See" with an international consortium of collaboration partners.