Advanced video camera reproduces animals’ eyesight capabilities with over 90 per cent accuracy
TECHNOLOGY
Humans differ greatly from other animals in a huge number of ways, but one of the most intriguing differences is vision. Eyesight varies a great deal between species, but now, according to a report published in the journal PLOS Biology, we have the means to see the world through other animals’ eyes.
A team of ecologists and filmmakers used a new camera system to produce a series of videos that accurately replicate the colours that different animals see in natural settings.
Due to the photoreceptors in their eyes, different animals perceive the world differently. Honeybees and some birds, for example, can see ultraviolet (UV) light, which is beyond the capabilities of human eyesight.
By reconstructing the colours that animals actually see, scientists can better understand how they communicate, navigate and build survival tactics.
False-colour images give us a glimpse into this colourful world, but traditional methods, such as spectrophotometry, which measures the reflective properties of materials, are time-consuming, require specific lighting conditions and only produce still images.
“We’ve long been fascinated by how animals see the world,” said Daniel Hanley, an assistant professor at George Mason University and a senio
