The eyes of raptors can accurately perceive prey from kilometers away. Is it possible to model camera technology after birds’ eyes? Researchers have developed a new type of camera that is inspired by the structures and functions of birds’ eyes. A research team led by Prof. Kim Dae-Hyeong at the Center for Nanoparticle Research within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), in collaboration with Prof. Song Young Min at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), has developed a perovskite-based camera specializing in object detection.

The work is published in the journal Science Robotics.

The eyes of different organisms in the natural world have evolved and been optimized to suit their habitat. As a result of countless years of evolutionary adaptation and flying at high altitudes, bird eyes have developed unique structures and visual functions.

In the retina of an animal’s eye, there is a small pit called the fovea that refracts the light entering the eye. Unlike the shallow foveae found in human eyes, bird eyes have deep central foveae, which refract the incoming light to a large extent. The region of the highest cone density lies within the foveae (Figure 1b), allowing the birds to clearly perceive distant objects through magnification (Figure 1c). This specialized vision is known as foveated vision.

While human eyes can only see visible light, bird eyes have four cones that respond to ultraviolet (UV) as well as visible (red, green, blue; RGB) light. This tetrachromatic vision enables birds to acquire abundant visual information and effectively detect target objects in a dynamic environment (Figure 1c).

Inspired by these capabilities, the IBS research team designed a new type of camera that specializes in object detection, incorporating artificial fovea and a multispectral image sensor that responds to both UV and RGB (Figure 2a).

First, the researchers fabricated the artificial fovea by mimicking the deep central foveae in the bird’s eyes (Figure 2b) and optimized the design through the optical simulation. This allows the camera to magnify distant target objects without image distortion.

The team then used perovskite, a material known for its excellent electrical and optical properties, to fabricate the multispectral image sensor. Four types of photodetectors were fabricated using different perovskite materials that absorb different wavelengths. The multispectral image sensor was finally fabricated by vertically stacking the four photodetectors (Figure 2c and 2d).

The first co-author Dr. Park Jinhong states, “We also developed a new transfer process to vertically stack the photodetectors. By using the perovskite patterning method developed in our previous research, we were able to fabricate the multispectral image sensor that can detect UV and RGB without additional color filters.”

Conventional cameras that use a zoom lens to magnify objects have the disadvantage of focusing only on the target object and not its surroundings. On the other hand, the bird-eye-inspired camera provides both a magnified view of the foveal region along with the surrounding view of the peripheral region (Figure 3a and 3b).

By comparing the two fields of vision, the bird-eye-inspired camera can achieve greater motion detection capabilities than the conventional camera (Figure 3c and 3d). In addition, the camera is more cost-effective and lightweight as it can distinguish UV and RGB light without additional color filters.

The research team verified the object recognition and motion detection capabilities of the developed camera through simulations. In terms of object recognition, the new camera demonstrated a confidence score of 0.76, which is about twice as high as the existing camera system’s confidence score of 0.39. The motion detection rate also increased by 3.6 times compared to the existing camera system, indicating significantly enhanced sensitivity to motion.

“Birds’ eyes have evolved to quickly and accurately detect distant objects while in flight. Our camera can be used in areas that need to detect objects clearly, such as robots and autonomous vehicles. In particular, the camera has great potential for application to drones operating in environments similar to those in which birds live,” remarked Prof. Kim.

This innovative camera technology represents a significant advancement in object detection, offering numerous potential applications across various industries.

As Japan plays host to a record influx of tourists, one of the country’s more private attractions—the high-tech toilet—is becoming a must-have in luxury bathrooms worldwide.

With their warm seats and precision spray technology, bidet toilets are the norm in Japan, where more than 80 percent of homes have one, according to a government survey.

Now sales are surging abroad and especially in the United States, led by A-list bidet fans such as Drake, the Kardashians and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Japanese company TOTO, which pioneered the electric bidets it claims have sparked “a global revolution from wiping to washing”, says overseas revenue for toilets has roughly doubled from 100 billion yen ($673 million) in 2012.

The pandemic was a key driver, bringing a home-renovation boom but also germ-conscious consumers desperate for an alternative to toilet paper after shelves were cleared by panic-buyers.

Senior TOTO executive Shinya Tamura, who oversees international business, told AFP the brand’s growth has been a word-of-mouth success.

When people first learn how the toilets’ water jets work, with pressure and temperature controls, “there’s an image that it’s not pleasant”.

But “we can’t explain how good it is with words. You need to experience it”, Tamura said.

“After a while, most users can’t live without it.”

The company’s international net sales for housing equipment are currently less than a third of those in Japan.

It wants to boost sales in the Americas by 19 percent over two years to “establish a solid position” there and offset less urgent demand in China.

But with more people in the market for a squeaky clean bum, US competitors are challenging TOTO and its Japanese rivals such as Panasonic and LIXIL for their throne.

‘Smartest toilet’

At a major tech fair in Las Vegas this year, the marketing manager of US brand Kohler called its Numi 2.0—which takes spoken instructions via an in-built Amazon Alexa—”the smartest toilet that exists”.

Just like top-end Japanese models, the Numi 2.0 has an automatic deodoriser and a motion-activated lid that opens when you enter the bathroom and closes when you leave.

Its spray wand has pulsating and oscillating functions, and users can adjust the warm-air dryer in minute detail.

But such pampering comes at a price: around $8,500 to $10,000, compared to around $500 for more basic bidet seats.

Americans who travel to Japan are often inspired to upgrade their toilet, a salesman at Ardy’s Bath Collection in Beverly Hills told AFP.

“They see it in the airport, and they see it in public restrooms, and they use it, and they’re like, ‘wow, this is great,'” he said.

Bidets are “popular everywhere” but it’s still a “private experience” and “weird to talk about” for some customers.

Although fancy Japanese-style toilets are fast becoming a status symbol, TOTO’s executives have long fought prudishness when trying to expand abroad.

After the US launch of its Washlet bidet in 1986, the firm struggled to place advertisements, and its pop-up event was kicked out of a high-end mall because other stores complained.

‘Does it hurt?’

How things have changed in the share-all internet era.

“Why am I nervous? Does it hurt? Is it cold?” 21-year-old Canadian Spencer Barbosa, who has 10 million TikTok followers, said in a clip of her trying a Japanese toilet.

Superstar rapper Drake made a grand public gesture of gifting his friend DJ Khaled luxury TOTO loos in 2022.

And US congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez joked in an Instagram video last year that she was shopping for a bidet after going to Japan because “life will never be the same”.

Funnily enough, when TOTO first began selling bidets—to hospitals in Japan—it imported them from the United States, but users complained that the stream was unstable.

The company was founded in 1917 as a father and son from a wealthy business family tried to bring Western-style ceramic toilets to Japan.

With sewer systems still undeveloped and squat-style toilets common, the business struggled, so they relied on tableware sales until habits began to change after the 1970 World Expo in Osaka, said Junichi Koga, head of TOTO’s history museum.

More than 300 employees helped develop and test the Washlet by specifying their preferred location for the water jet.

Now, worldwide, TOTO has sold 60 million Washlets—featured in episodes of “The Kardashians” and “South Park”, which parodied the company as “TOOTTOOT”.

As the bidet craze grows, even the trepidatious might be converted in time, the Ardy’s salesman said.

He recommends customers put in the necessary electrics when they remodel their bathroom, telling them: “You could always buy it down the line”.

© 2024 AFP