In order to track objects that are camouflaged like their surroundings, a new camera designed by researchers in South Korea takes inspiration from the eyes of a cat, using two modifications that let it distinguish objects from their background, even at night.
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Originally Posted by KOHAVA MENDELSOHN, IEEE, 20 Sept 2024
This particular camera copied two adaptations from cats’ eyes: their vertical pupils and a reflective structure behind their retinas. Combined, these allowed the camera to be 10 percent more accurate at distinguishing camouflaged objects from their backgrounds and 52 percent more efficient at absorbing incoming light.
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Cat eyes have an in-built reflector, called a tapetum lucidum, which sits behind the retina. It reflects light that passes through the retina back at it, so it can process both the incoming light and reflected light, giving felines superior night vision. You can see this biological adaptation yourself by looking at a cat’s eyes at night: they will glow.
The researchers created an artificial version of this biological structure by placing a silver reflector under each photodiode in the camera. Photodiodes without a reflector generated current when more than 1.39 watts per square meter of light fell on them, while photodiodes with a reflector activated with 0.007 W/m2 of light. That means the photodiode could generate an image with about 1/200th the light.
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Article here :-
https://spectrum.ieee.org/night-vision-camera
