Insects’ Compound Eyes See Panoramic View

Function

If you look closely at the eyes of an insect, you’ll notice that they are covered in lots of tiny bumps. Unlike humans who have only one left and right eye, the eyes of insects (called compound eyes) are made up of a large number of smaller, dome-shaped, eye-like organs called ommatidia (singular ommatidium). The eyes of a dragonfly, for example, consist of over 10,000 ommatidia each. The cornea, a membrane on the surface of the ommatidium, receives light from the insect’s surroundings and directs it into the nearby corneal cells (about 6-10 of them). The light entering each ommatidium comes from a different direction than surrounding ones, so a compound eye with more ommatidia will have a wider field of vision. The dragonfly, for example, can see all 360 degrees around itself, which allows it to spot predators quickly and easily locate prey. Individual ommatidia come in a variety of shapes including pentagons, hexagons, heptagons and even cylinders, allowing them to be densely packed into a compound eye without any gaps.

Functional Classification

Resouce/Energy/Information Collection & Storage:
Wide field

Environmental Solution Classification

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Technical Application

Products and Services

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Proposals of Applied Technology

Camera lenses modeled on the structure of compound eyes could allow cameras to capture a much wider field than conventional camera lenses. Such panoramic cameras could be included in cars as an additional safety feature. Likewise, such cameras would be useful for surveillance and inspection inside buildings. This sort of camera could also be used to develop smaller endoscopes for medical use. The physical arrangement of the compound eye makes it a very durable structure. Dome shaped buildings modeled after the compound eye would be very durable and resistant to earthquakes. The durability of this structure also makes it attractive for use in the development of precision instruments with small components.

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