Digital Camera System Based on Insect Eyes
May 3rd, 2013Via: The Verge:
Samsung may claim its smartphones are inspired by nature, but researchers at the University of Illinois are taking that concept much farther — they’ve designed a new digital camera system that draws from the eyes of insects. The system, which relies on a large range of miniscule focusing lenses and detectors arranged in a hemisphere, resembles the huge, bulbous ocular system of insects like the dragonfly or the praying mantis. The benefits of this new system include an exceptionally wide field-of-view with low aberrations and a depth-of-field described as “nearly infinite.” The design, known as an “arthropodsuse compound design,” uses an a swath of smaller eyes to work together and provide a better overall image.
…
There’s no word yet on how this technology might be deployed — but the study was co-funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), so it wouldn’t surprise us to see this used in the military someday.
That sounds a lot like DARPA’s Argus system.