Traditional imaging systems are modeled after human vision, a static trichromatic vision, sensitive to visible light alone. However, in nature not all biological agents have the same visual/spectral constraints as humans; some can see ultraviolet, others visible, others infrared, and some a mixture. The design of the traditional imaging system only accounts for a small subset of the vision systems found in nature. Such limitations imposed by an imaging system limits the research of biological agents that see differently than humans. Different biological visual data is critical for having a complete understanding of the world, under ever-changing environmental conditions. To address the limitations of traditional imaging systems, a conceptualized design using electrooptical switchable filters to mimic the vision of biological agents, scalable to the varying number of color vision systems (e.g. dichromatic, trichromatic, etc.) found in nature and capable of demonstrating the physiological changes a biological vision system can experience has been developed. Electro-optical switchable filters have two optical modes, one for spectral transmission and another for spectral reflections; these two modes are used to model a biological agents color recognition or blindness abilities.

Date Published: 7 March 2019
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 10895, Frontiers in Biological Detection: From Nanosensors to Systems XI, 1089512 (7 March 2019); doi: 10.1117/12.2521682

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 10895:
Frontiers in Biological Detection: From Nanosensors to Systems XI
Amos Danielli; Benjamin L. Miller; Sharon M. Weiss, Editor(s)