You might be surprised to know what animal has the most sophisticated visual system. Its eyes have at least twice as many types of color receptors compared to human eyes. They have three focal points while human eyes have only one. This animal can see both ultraviolet and infrared light, which our eyes cannot do. It has six polarization channels in each eye with high polarization sensitivity and hyperspectral imaging. What is the animal with this incredible visual system? It’s the mantis shrimp–a marine crustacean of the order Stomatopoda.
Researchers studying this animal’s eye say that it not only surpasses the sensitivity of our own visual system, but also captures more visual information, uses less power, and takes up less space than the most sophisticated state-of-the-art cameras. Scientists at the University of Illinois have developed a color-polarization camera based on the mantis shrimp’s visual system. The camera can aid in the early detection of cancer.
Mantis shrimps communicate using polarized light which cannot be detected by predators. They polarize the light by sending it across a reflector rather than the conventional method of sending the light through a lens. Researchers are copying this method of the mantis shrimp to develop a single chip, low-power, high-resolution color-polarization camera. The National Science Foundation and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research are sponsoring the project. The mantis-copied camera concept has great potential for a variety of applications.
Romans 1:19-20 tells us we can know there is a God through the things He has made. Again and again, scientists discover design’s like the most sophisticated visual system of the mantis shrimp. These amazing discoveries happen in every discipline of science. It is an exciting time to be alive, as we see more and more examples of God’s creative wisdom and design. Go to Photonics Online for more on this.
–John N. Clayton © 2017
