Night vision

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

Vision, Visibility and Perception in Driving

Abstract: Recent research is reviewed and its implications discussed. "On-the-Spot" accident investigations have confirmed that errors of perception by the driver are a major contributory factor to accidents. However, the available evidence suggests that few of these are attributable to reduced or defective vision, since at best only a weak relationship has been found between a driver's level of vision (or visual performance) and his accident rate. A number of reasons for this general finding are considered, including driver compensation. For all drivers, the rapid fall in visual acuity with angular distance from the centre of vision presents particular problems, giving special significance to eye-movement patterns and the problems of visual search. Numerous physical and psychophysical restrictions on visibility could lead to the "looked, but failed to see" type of accident, but their relative importance requires evaluation. There is now much evidence that the driver is quite often operating beyond his visual or perceptual capabilities in a number of key driving situations, including overtaking, joining or crossing a high-speed road, and a number of nighttime situations. It is concluded that "expectancy", based on experience in both the long and the short term, has a profound influence on driver perception and assessment of risk. For all drivers, serious errors of judgment from time to time would seem inevitable. In general, these do not lead to accidents because of, among other things, the safety margins added by the driver and adjustments made by other road users. Thus, despite his limitations and fallibilities, the average driver is involved in surprisingly few serious incidents, particularly in view of the rapid rate of decisionmaking that is required. However, the present accident rate should not be accepted as inevitable and various countermeasures are discussed.

Atomically thin noble metal dichalcogenide: a broadband mid-infrared semiconductor.

Abstract: The interest in mid-infrared technologies surrounds plenty of important optoelectronic applications ranging from optical communications, biomedical imaging to night vision cameras, and so on. Although narrow bandgap semiconductors, such as Mercury Cadmium Telluride and Indium Antimonide, and quantum superlattices based on inter-subband transitions in wide bandgap semiconductors, have been employed for mid-infrared applications, it remains a daunting challenge to search for other materials that possess suitable bandgaps in this wavelength range. Here, we demonstrate experimentally for the first time that two-dimensional (2D) atomically thin PtSe2 has a variable bandgap in the mid-infrared via layer and defect engineering. Here, we show that bilayer PtSe2 combined with defects modulation possesses strong light absorption in the mid-infrared region, and we realize a mid-infrared photoconductive detector operating in a broadband mid-infrared range. Our results pave the way for atomically thin 2D noble metal dichalcogenides to be employed in high-performance mid-infrared optoelectronic devices.

Mutations in NYX, encoding the leucine-rich proteoglycan nyctalopin, cause X-linked complete congenital stationary night blindness.

Abstract: During development, visual photoreceptors, bipolar cells and other neurons establish connections within the retina enabling the eye to process visual images over approximately 7 log units of illumination1. Within the retina, cells that respond to light increment and light decrement are separated into ON- and OFF-pathways. Hereditary diseases are known to disturb these retinal pathways, causing either progressive degeneration or stationary deficits2. Congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB) is a group of stable retinal disorders that are characterized by abnormal night vision. Genetic subtypes of CSNB have been defined and different disease actions have been postulated3,4,5. The molecular bases have been elucidated in several subtypes, providing a better understanding of the disease mechanisms and developmental retinal neurobiology2. Here we have studied 22 families with 'complete' X-linked CSNB (CSNB1; MIM 310500; ref. 4) in which affected males have night blindness, some photopic vision loss and a defect of the ON-pathway. We have found 14 different mutations, including 1 founder mutation in 7 families from the United States, in a novel candidate gene, NYX. NYX, which encodes a glycosylphosphatidyl (GPI)-anchored protein called nyctalopin, is a new and unique member of the small leucine-rich proteoglycan (SLRP) family6. The role of other SLRP proteins suggests that mutant nyctalopin disrupts developing retinal interconnections involving the ON-bipolar cells, leading to the visual losses seen in patients with complete CSNB.