World's Smallest 3D Glasses Developed & Tested On Praying Mantis By Newcastle University

A team of neuroscience researchers from Newcastle University have developed what are being called the world's tiniest "3D glasses". The research team has been trying to understand 3D vision among praying mantis. Apparently, they are the only invertebrate known to have this ability. Their experiments aim at analyzing how 3D vision has evolved over the years and how new approaches can make 3D recognition and depth perception an important part of robotics and computer vision. Dr. Jenny Read and his team of researchers from the Institute of Neuroscience at Newcastle University are now characterizing the mechanisms of 3D vision in mantises.

Praying mantises are popular for their ability to capture prey with awesome efficiency. By studying their natural features, the researchers hope to unlock an untapped potential and create way simpler algorithms for programming 3D vision into robots.


The researchers wanted to present the virtual 3D stimuli, such as moving objects within the visual field of the mantis. They developed and attached a new pair of world’s tiniest 3D glasses to the mantis's eyes using beeswax. They then made the mantis watch computer-generated images (CGI) on a desktop monitor. The researchers shared that like humans watching a 3D movie, a mantis could also be fooled into misjudging the depth. This project aims to explore the data generated from observations and electrophysiological recordings, so that new neural algorithms can be developed.

The ultimate aim is to use this technology to study evolution of 3D vision in the natural world and how it can be applied to modern day robotics. Do take a look at the video put together by the research team. It is fun -

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Source: Newcastle University