Vision

This Wired article talks about a flight simulator built to understand how flies can process images much faster than humans. From the article: "Ever wonder how an insect with such a tiny brain can thwart your attempts to catch it nearly every time? Apparently scientists do, too.

To find out how the common blowfly manages to process visual images more than four times faster than humans, researchers have built the bug a flight simulator.

From this Science Daily article : "Vast quantities of data are transferred in real time from telescopes around the world to a supercomputer in the Netherlands, where European researchers combine the information to create high-resolution images of distant objects in space.

By pointing up to 16 radio telescopes from six continents at one source in space and combining the observation signals from the telescopes via a high-speed network, European astronomers have created a ‘virtual telescope’ that delivers better resolution than any single telescope on earth. The high-speed network also makes it easier for astronomers to react to so-called Targets of Opportunity – transient events such as supernova explosions and gamma-ray bursts in space.

This ZDNet article reports "a team of scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS in Dresden, Germany, is working on a device which incorporates eye tracking to influence the content presented to the viewer. Without having to use any other devices to enter instructions, the wearer can display new content, scroll through a menu or shift picture elements simply by moving her eyes or fixing on certain points in the image.

“We want to make the eyeglasses bidirectional and interactive so that new areas of application can be opened up,” says Dr. Michael Scholles, business unit manager at IPMS.

This ZDNet article talks about Microsoft's augmented reality new tool. From the article: "At TechFest, Microsoft’s annual research event, the company demoed its “Core Tools for Augmented Reality (AR),” software that superimposes data and graphics onto a display with real time footage, essentially linking the information world and the physical world.

This physorg.com article takes a look at new theory of visual computation that reveals the way human brain makes sense of natural scenes. From the article: "Computational neuroscientists at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a computational model that provides insight into the function of the brain's visual cortex and the information processing that enables people to perceive contours and surfaces, and understand what they see in the world around them.

This NewScientist.com article takes a look at a radar helmet which could steer rescuers through smoke. From the article: "Rescue workers must sometimes navigate smoke-filled and unfamiliar buildings. But helmets packed with sensors and software designed to give robots a sense of direction could build instant maps to help with a mission.

A technique called simultaneous location and mapping (SLAM) gives robots a version of the human ability to build up mental maps of an area as it is explored. The technique can be useful to, for example, let robotic cars navigate on unfamiliar streets.

As a robot moves, distance sensors and cameras measure and record the distances to surrounding objects, making it possible to build a detailed and accurate map of the area.

This NewScientistTech article reports that mimicking the curves of a human retina has enabled a digital image sensor to take wide-angle pictures without distortion. From the article: "This is possible thanks to an improved method of transferring silicon sensors onto a curved surface.

The electronic eyeball design can allow small cameras to capture wide-angle views with low distortion. That could be useful in a range of situations, from policing, to attaching cameras to wildlife.

This NewScientistTech article reports a software developed in the US can perceive moving images in much the same way a cat's brain does. From the article: "The researchers hope the work will one day lead to implants that make it possible for people to see without an optic nerve.

Researchers at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, San Francisco, were motivated by the fact that, until now, models of the way brains respond to visual input used simple images like dots, bars and grids. They are typically unable to cope with the complex scenes a human would usually see.

This NewScientistTech article reports two consumer digital cameras, some fishing line and a spot of number crunching have made it possible for researchers to track the 3D positions of more than 2000 individual starlings flying in a single tightly-packed flock. From the article: "Previously, scientists could only work out the positions of tens of birds at any one time. Unveiling the secrets of such complex group behaviour could have applications in economics.

Because of the difficulties in tracking individual birds in large flocks, biologists have instead used computer simulations to study flocking.

A stereoscopy.com article reports 21st Century 3D announced a new addition to its line up of digital stereoscopic motion picture cameras. From the article: "At a time when 3D production is booming and major studios are calling for more live action 3D camera equipment, the 3DP2 arrives as a new live action 3D camera system that shoots high definition stereoscopic images directly to solid-state memory. The 3DP2 is 21st Century 3D's first system to be developed in the beam splitter configuration. Utilizing an optical beam splitting glass element, two cameras are mounted perpendicular to one another on either side of the glass. This arrangement allows for a variable interocular spacing, ranging from 0" – 4". The operator can dynamically adjust the 3DP2's depth settings during a shot to vary the intensity of the 3D effect.