Abstract:
Despite their tiny eyes and brains, nocturnal insects have remarkable visual abilities. Recent work - particularly on fast-flying moths and bees and on ball-rolling dung ...Show MoreMetadata
Abstract:
Despite their tiny eyes and brains, nocturnal insects have remarkable visual abilities. Recent work - particularly on fast-flying moths and bees and on ball-rolling dung beetles - has shown that nocturnal insects are able to distinguish colors, to detect faint movements, to learn visual landmarks, to orient to the faint pattern of polarized light produced by the moon, and to navigate using the stars. These impressive visual abilities are the result of exquisitely adapted eyes and visual systems, the product of millions of years of evolution. Even though we are only at the threshold of understanding the neural mechanisms responsible for reliable nocturnal vision, growing evidence suggests that the neural summation of photons in space and time is critically important: even though vision in dim light becomes necessarily coarser and slower, those details that are preserved are seen clearly. These benefits of spatio-temporal summation have obvious implications for dim-light video technologies. In addition to reviewing the visual adaptations of nocturnal insects, we here describe an algorithm inspired by nocturnal visual processing strategies - from amplification of primary image signals to optimized spatio-temporal summation to reduce noise - that dramatically increases the reliability of video collected in dim light, including the preservation of color.
Published in: Proceedings of the IEEE ( Volume: 102, Issue: 10, October 2014)
Funding Agency:
Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Eric Warrant received an honors degree in physics from the University of
New South Wales, Sydney, N.S.W., Australia, in 1985 and the Ph.D. degree in visual science from the Australian National
University, Canberra, A.C.T., Australia, in 1990, studying the designs and optics of insect eyes.
He is a Professor of Zoology at the University of Lund, Lund, Sweden. He took up a Postdoctoral position at Lund
University in 1990, b...Show More
Eric Warrant received an honors degree in physics from the University of
New South Wales, Sydney, N.S.W., Australia, in 1985 and the Ph.D. degree in visual science from the Australian National
University, Canberra, A.C.T., Australia, in 1990, studying the designs and optics of insect eyes.
He is a Professor of Zoology at the University of Lund, Lund, Sweden. He took up a Postdoctoral position at Lund
University in 1990, b...View more
Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Magnus Oskarsson (Member, IEEE) received the M.Sc degree in engineering
physics and the Ph.D. degree in mathematics from the University of Lund, Lund, Sweden, in 1997 and 2002, respectively.
His thesis work was devoted to computer vision with applications for autonomous vehicles.
He is currently an Associate Professor at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Lund University, where his teachings
include undergraduate and ...Show More
Magnus Oskarsson (Member, IEEE) received the M.Sc degree in engineering
physics and the Ph.D. degree in mathematics from the University of Lund, Lund, Sweden, in 1997 and 2002, respectively.
His thesis work was devoted to computer vision with applications for autonomous vehicles.
He is currently an Associate Professor at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Lund University, where his teachings
include undergraduate and ...View more
Foster and Partners, London, U.K.
Henrik Malm received the M.Sc. degree in computer science and technology
and the Ph.D. degree in applied mathematics from Lund Institute of Technology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden, in 1998
and 2003, respectively, and the B.Sc. degree in architecture from Lund Institute of Technology in 2012.
In autumn 2000, he was a Guest Researcher with the Computer Vision Laboratory, Center for Automation Research,
University of Maryl...Show More
Henrik Malm received the M.Sc. degree in computer science and technology
and the Ph.D. degree in applied mathematics from Lund Institute of Technology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden, in 1998
and 2003, respectively, and the B.Sc. degree in architecture from Lund Institute of Technology in 2012.
In autumn 2000, he was a Guest Researcher with the Computer Vision Laboratory, Center for Automation Research,
University of Maryl...View more
Contents Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Eric Warrant received an honors degree in physics from the University of
New South Wales, Sydney, N.S.W., Australia, in 1985 and the Ph.D. degree in visual science from the Australian National
University, Canberra, A.C.T., Australia, in 1990, studying the designs and optics of insect eyes.
He is a Professor of Zoology at the University of Lund, Lund, Sweden. He took up a Postdoctoral position at Lund
University in 1990, became tenured in 1996, and became a full professor in 2002. He leads an active research group
studying vision and visual navigation in animals from extremely dim habitats (nocturnal and deep sea). He has published
two books, and over 100 original papers, reviews, and popular articles, and his work has frequently been featured in the
national and international press.
Prof. Warrant is Vice Chairman of the National Committee for Biology (Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences). He is a
Fellow and Board Member of the Royal Physiographic Society and a Foreign Fellow of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences
and Letters.
Eric Warrant received an honors degree in physics from the University of
New South Wales, Sydney, N.S.W., Australia, in 1985 and the Ph.D. degree in visual science from the Australian National
University, Canberra, A.C.T., Australia, in 1990, studying the designs and optics of insect eyes.
He is a Professor of Zoology at the University of Lund, Lund, Sweden. He took up a Postdoctoral position at Lund
University in 1990, became tenured in 1996, and became a full professor in 2002. He leads an active research group
studying vision and visual navigation in animals from extremely dim habitats (nocturnal and deep sea). He has published
two books, and over 100 original papers, reviews, and popular articles, and his work has frequently been featured in the
national and international press.
Prof. Warrant is Vice Chairman of the National Committee for Biology (Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences). He is a
Fellow and Board Member of the Royal Physiographic Society and a Foreign Fellow of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences
and Letters.View more
Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Magnus Oskarsson (Member, IEEE) received the M.Sc degree in engineering
physics and the Ph.D. degree in mathematics from the University of Lund, Lund, Sweden, in 1997 and 2002, respectively.
His thesis work was devoted to computer vision with applications for autonomous vehicles.
He is currently an Associate Professor at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Lund University, where his teachings
include undergraduate and graduate courses in mathematics and image analysis. He is the author and coauthor of a number
of papers published in international journals and conference proceedings within geometry, algebra, and optimization with
applications in computer vision, cognitive vision, and image enhancement.
Magnus Oskarsson (Member, IEEE) received the M.Sc degree in engineering
physics and the Ph.D. degree in mathematics from the University of Lund, Lund, Sweden, in 1997 and 2002, respectively.
His thesis work was devoted to computer vision with applications for autonomous vehicles.
He is currently an Associate Professor at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Lund University, where his teachings
include undergraduate and graduate courses in mathematics and image analysis. He is the author and coauthor of a number
of papers published in international journals and conference proceedings within geometry, algebra, and optimization with
applications in computer vision, cognitive vision, and image enhancement.View more
Foster and Partners, London, U.K.
Henrik Malm received the M.Sc. degree in computer science and technology
and the Ph.D. degree in applied mathematics from Lund Institute of Technology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden, in 1998
and 2003, respectively, and the B.Sc. degree in architecture from Lund Institute of Technology in 2012.
In autumn 2000, he was a Guest Researcher with the Computer Vision Laboratory, Center for Automation Research,
University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Lund Vision Group at the Department
of Cell and Organism Biology, Lund University. He has authored a number of papers on the following subjects in
international journals and conference proceedings: robot vision, camera calibration, visual illusions, nonlinear
diffusion filtering, and biologically inspired night-vision systems. He is currently working as a practicing architect
at the architecture practice Fosters and Partners in London (UK) and as a researcher and lecturer in architecture,
specializing on aspects of computational design.
Henrik Malm received the M.Sc. degree in computer science and technology
and the Ph.D. degree in applied mathematics from Lund Institute of Technology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden, in 1998
and 2003, respectively, and the B.Sc. degree in architecture from Lund Institute of Technology in 2012.
In autumn 2000, he was a Guest Researcher with the Computer Vision Laboratory, Center for Automation Research,
University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Lund Vision Group at the Department
of Cell and Organism Biology, Lund University. He has authored a number of papers on the following subjects in
international journals and conference proceedings: robot vision, camera calibration, visual illusions, nonlinear
diffusion filtering, and biologically inspired night-vision systems. He is currently working as a practicing architect
at the architecture practice Fosters and Partners in London (UK) and as a researcher and lecturer in architecture,
specializing on aspects of computational design.View more
