Bee brains could pave the way for leaps in camera technology

Scientists believe that the structure of the bee brain will help the next generation of cameras significantly improve the ability to accurately perceive color in a variety of lighting conditions, along with increasing color durability.

A new study suggests that honeybees have inspired the development of more accurate color correction technology in digital photography.

A team of scientists published the results of a study on how bees perceive color in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Their findings challenge many previous assumptions about bee color perception, and suggest that the findings could be incorporated into cameras to better represent natural light.

Bees can accurately perceive the color of the flowers they land on.

In the past, scientists have wondered why honeybees can distinguish between the many colors of the flowers they land on, even when the ambient light is constantly changing. The accepted theory is that, like humans, bees have the ability to adapt color. Even when a red object is illuminated by green light, the bee still perceives it as red.

The so-called Von Kries transform theorem gives us a basic idea of ​​this and has been applied to camera technology to maintain color consistency. If you use a bad camera, the colors will not be true. But a camera with a high-quality sensor and a variety of white balance options will produce true-to-life images, closer to what the human eye perceives.

What the study suggests is that bees process images differently than we previously thought. Bees have two compound eyes that directly observe the flower they’re targeting. But on top of their heads, they also have three ocelli, or simple eyes, that point straight up. Each of these ocelli contains two receptors that constantly pick up ambient light.

“Physically, the constant detection of ambient light by the monoculars allows the bee brain to ignore the natural colored light that confuses color perception,” explained lead researcher Dr. Jair Garcia in a press release. “But for this to happen, the information obtained from the monoculars must be integrated with the colors seen by the bee’s compound eyes.”

The simple oculomotor nerves were fixed and found to project directly to the visual processing area of ​​the bee's brain. Scientists explained that the parallel image sequences continuously entered the higher visual processing center in the bee's brain and then confirmed the correctness when comparing the mathematical hypotheses with the observed behavior of the bees.

This tiny insect was gifted with extraordinary eyes.

“This discovery of color constancy can be applied to image processing systems that can capture accurate colors,” said Adrian Dyer, one of the researchers involved in the study. There are high hopes for integrating similar technology into drones, cameras and robots to improve the ability to accurately perceive colors outdoors.

According to ICTNews