Night vision

About: Night vision is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 6004 publications have been published within this topic receiving 67372 citations.

Direct incorporation of night vision in a helmet mounted display

Abstract: Helmet mounted display apparatus for use in aircraft and rotorcraft includes an first image source for generating images comprising pilotage symbol information, a second image source for sensing and generating images of the exterior scene, and relay optical components that optically superimpose the two images together and subsequently project the superimposed image into the observer's forward field of view.

Kiwi Forego Vision in the Guidance of Their Nocturnal Activities

Abstract: Background In vision, there is a trade-off between sensitivity and resolution, and any eye which maximises information gain at low light levels needs to be large This imposes exacting constraints upon vision in nocturnal flying birds Eyes are essentially heavy, fluid-filled chambers, and in flying birds their increased size is countered by selection for both reduced body mass and the distribution of mass towards the body core Freed from these mass constraints, it would be predicted that in flightless birds nocturnality should favour the evolution of large eyes and reliance upon visual cues for the guidance of activity Methodology/Principal Findings We show that in Kiwi (Apterygidae), flightlessness and nocturnality have, in fact, resulted in the opposite outcome Kiwi show minimal reliance upon vision indicated by eye structure, visual field topography, and brain structures, and increased reliance upon tactile and olfactory information Conclusions/Significance This lack of reliance upon vision and increased reliance upon tactile and olfactory information in Kiwi is markedly similar to the situation in nocturnal mammals that exploit the forest floor That Kiwi and mammals evolved to exploit these habitats quite independently provides evidence for convergent evolution in their sensory capacities that are tuned to a common set of perceptual challenges found in forest floor habitats at night and which cannot be met by the vertebrate visual system We propose that the Kiwi visual system has undergone adaptive regressive evolution driven by the trade-off between the relatively low rate of gain of visual information that is possible at low light levels, and the metabolic costs of extracting that information

Sunlight activated long-lasting luminescence from Ba5Si8O21: Eu(2+),Dy(3+) phosphor.

Abstract: Visible-light persistent phosphors are commonly used as self-sustained night vision and fluorescence labeling materials. From the inspiration of the structure of six-membered rings plane in Ba4(Si3O8)2, a similar structure of Ba5Si8O21 is expected that could exhibit more excellent phosphorescence property. In this Article, we report a novel visible long-lasting luminescence phosphor of Eu(2+)/Dy(3+) codoped Ba5Si8O21 for the first time. Ba5Si8O21:Eu(2+),Dy(3+) phosphor could be activated effectively by sunlight or even in severe weather conditions, which is mainly attributed to the broad excitation spectrum (200-455 nm) and highly responds to UV-A and violet-light in the solar spectrum. After activation, Ba5Si8O21:Eu(2+),Dy(3+) emits intense emission at 380-680 nm with persistent phosphorescence beyond 16 h. Moreover, it exhibits excellent and stable phosphorescence even in water, indicating that Ba5Si8O21:Eu(2+),Dy(3+) will be a all-weather material that can be effectively and repeatedly charged by natural daylight in all kinds of open-air environments. Furthermore, the quantum tunneling behavior was illustrated in the afterglow mechanism.

Magnetically activated switch

Abstract: An apparatus for sensing relative positions of mechanically coupled devices. The apparatus includes a magnetically actuated switch connected to a set of flux conductors to form a switch assembly. A permanent magnet is affixed to a set of flux conductors to form a magnet assembly. The flux conductors are positioned adjacently to conduct flux from the permanent magnet to the magnetically actuated switch. Movement of either assembly results in the reduction of flux conduction between the magnet and the magnetically actuated switch. The apparatus can be integrated into a helmet mount for night vision goggles to sense the relative position of the helmet mount for controlling the operation of the night vision goggle.

Generation and analysis of blueberry transcriptome sequences from leaves, developing fruit, and flower buds from cold acclimation through deacclimation

Abstract: There has been increased consumption of blueberries in recent years fueled in part because of their many recognized health benefits. Blueberry fruit is very high in anthocyanins, which have been linked to improved night vision, prevention of macular degeneration, anti-cancer activity, and reduced risk of heart disease. Very few genomic resources have been available for blueberry, however. Further development of genomic resources like expressed sequence tags (ESTs), molecular markers, and genetic linkage maps could lead to more rapid genetic improvement. Marker-assisted selection could be used to combine traits for climatic adaptation with fruit and nutritional quality traits. Efforts to sequence the transcriptome of the commercial highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) cultivar Bluecrop and use the sequences to identify genes associated with cold acclimation and fruit development and develop SSR markers for mapping studies are presented here. Transcriptome sequences were generated from blueberry fruit at different stages of development, flower buds at different stages of cold acclimation, and leaves by next-generation Roche 454 sequencing. Over 600,000 reads were assembled into approximately 15,000 contigs and 124,000 singletons. The assembled sequences were annotated and functionally mapped to Gene Ontology (GO) terms. Frequency of the most abundant sequences in each of the libraries was compared across all libraries to identify genes that are potentially differentially expressed during cold acclimation and fruit development. Real-time PCR was performed to confirm their differential expression patterns. Overall, 14 out of 17 of the genes examined had differential expression patterns similar to what was predicted from their reads alone. The assembled sequences were also mined for SSRs. From these sequences, 15,886 blueberry EST-SSR loci were identified. Primers were designed from 7,705 of the SSR-containing sequences with adequate flanking sequence. One hundred primer pairs were tested for amplification and polymorphism among parents of two blueberry populations currently being used for genetic linkage map construction. The tetraploid mapping population was based on a cross between the highbush cultivars Draper and Jewel (V. darrowii is also in the background of 'Jewel'). The diploid mapping population was based on a cross between an F1 hybrid of V. darrowii and diploid V. corymbosum and another diploid V. corymbosum. The overall amplification rate of the SSR primers was 68% and the polymorphism rate was 43%. These results indicate that this large collection of 454 ESTs will be a valuable resource for identifying genes that are potentially differentially expressed and play important roles in flower bud development, cold acclimation, chilling unit accumulation, and fruit development in blueberry and related species. In addition, the ESTs have already proved useful for the development of SSR and EST-PCR markers, and are currently being used for construction of genetic linkage maps in blueberry.