Camera based on insect eyes

Inspired by the eye of insects, US scientists have said they have made digital dome cameras, with unusually wide angles and sharp images.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Northwest University say their cameras simulate the complex eye of a fly species, with nearly 200 tiny lenses, which means that a large eye synthesizes the word many small eyes.

Digital Hemisphere Lens - (Photo: AFP)

The lens of the new camera is a hemisphere, which can shoot at extremely wide angles, according to AFP, which directs press releases on the Northwestern University website.

This technology can be found in the field of future surveillance equipment, or in medical imaging.

Researcher Yonggang Huang of the Northwest University says that each camera in the hemisphere consists of a small lens and a separate image detector.

However, when combined together, the camera can capture sharp images at an angle of nearly 180 degrees, while the current imaging technology only captures a single image.

The next development could be to combine two spheres into a complete 360 degree viewing angle.