Scientists have developed a so-called „snake vision“ that uses a CMOS with a quantum dot layer that can detect infrared radiation.
For centuries, mankind’s greatest technological leaps have begun with a simple act: observing nature. Our desire to fly high was inspired by birds‘ ability to soar the skies. Our fascination with marine life — and the ocean, in general — eventually helped us design and build submarines, boats, and some of the biggest ships ever seen; inventions that went on to become the backbone of trade and warfare. This practice of learning from natural design forms an area of study known as biomimicry, and this tendency to borrow ideas from nature is far from over.
A recent example comes from a group of scientists at China’s Beijing Institute of Technology, who have developed an artificial vision system inspired by certain snake species. Informally called „snake vision“, this technology — as outlined in a paper published in Light, Science & Applications — mimics the heat-sensing capability of pit vipers, a species of snake that has evolved to detect infrared radiation emitted by warm bodies, allowing them to „see“ and hunt for prey even in complete darkness.
The goal of this new technology is to close the gap between current night-vision cameras and the sharp, high-resolution images we get from normal cameras. Consumer-grade night-vision systems often produce grainy or blurry imagery because they rely on their own infrared illumination and cannot detect the natural infrared radiation that objects emit. Snake vision solves this problem by giving a standard camera sensor the ability to detect this naturally emitted infrared with far greater clarity.
