Photo filters will never be the same.
A new video camera created by a team of American and British scientists allows people to see the world as animals see it.
Although humans have sharper vision than most animals, different species see colors differently due to the ability of the photoreceptors in their eyes.
For example, some birds can see ultraviolet light that is beyond the range of human perception.
But the new camera records video in four color channels: blue, green, red and ultraviolet, according to a paper published Tuesday in the journal PLOS Biology.
The data is then processed into estimated “visible units” for different animals, based on existing knowledge of the photoreceptors in their eyes.
Cameras capture how UV-sensitive birds see sulfur orange moths in nature, compared to how humans do (inset). Daniel Hanley / SWNS
“This optical component reflects UV light in a mirror-like fashion, but allows visible light through in the same way as clear glass,” study authors Daniel Hanley, associate professor of biology at George Mason University, and Vera Vasas, a biologist at Queen Mary University of London told Gizmodo.
“This way the system can simultaneously capture light from four different wavelength regions: ultraviolet, blue, green and red.”
The result is a pipeline that allows viewers to “easily change cameras, lenses, or visualize color appearances for various animal viewers,” the scientists wrote.
Different animal species see colors differently because of the photoreceptor capabilities in their eyes. Daniel Hanley / SWNS The new camera records video in four color channels. Daniel Hanley / SWNS
The researchers published a series of videos which shows how a bird sees a butterfly, how a mouse sees a rainbow, how a dog sees a peacock feather, or how a honey bee sees someone using sunscreen.
“We have long been fascinated by the way animals see the world. Modern techniques in sensory ecology allow us to infer how static scenes might appear to animals; however, animals often make important decisions to move targets (eg, detect food items, evaluate the display of potential mates, etc.),” explained Hanley in a press release.
“Here, we introduce hardware and software tools for ecologists and filmmakers that can capture and display the colors animals see in motion.”
The new video camera was created by a group of American and British scientists. Daniel Hanley / SWNS Some birds can see ultraviolet light that is beyond the range of human perception. Daniel Hanley / SWNS
The scientists are also sharing their methods and software code in hopes of inspiring others to replicate the camera, with the parts all commercially available.
“We believe that this will accelerate development, to everyone’s benefit,” Hanley and Vasas reportedly said.
“We have several ideas that we plan to address with our camera, but the most interesting questions are the ones we haven’t considered,” the scientist continued.
The camera allows humans to “visualize the appearance of color for various animal viewers.” Daniel Hanley / SWNS
“It’s only now that we’re starting to take video of the natural world that we’re starting to see how much information is out there.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
