This sounds pretty elegant but I don't think it's correct.
I don't have a good sense for what the R&D required to spin up a new bespoke sensor is, but I think it's sort of high - I assume there's a reason Nikon seem to source most of their sensors from Sony. Assuming you get to use a custom sensor for your camera, you also lose a bit of sensitivity at the "fovea."
Also, Nikon's own press release also refer specifically to an "optical lens system with both telephoto and wide-angle lens functions," which leads me to believe this isn't an innovation at the sensor level.
I don't think the parent comment is saying this is a new sensor; rather that the lens spreads the center over a wider area of the sensor (hence more pixels) and squeezes the edges into a smaller area (hence less pixels).
I don't think you can get enough difference in the effective focal length to make this worthwhile with a single fisheye like that although I might be wrong.
I don't have a good sense for what the R&D required to spin up a new bespoke sensor is, but I think it's sort of high - I assume there's a reason Nikon seem to source most of their sensors from Sony. Assuming you get to use a custom sensor for your camera, you also lose a bit of sensitivity at the "fovea."
Also, Nikon's own press release also refer specifically to an "optical lens system with both telephoto and wide-angle lens functions," which leads me to believe this isn't an innovation at the sensor level.