Insect-inspired depth perception
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sheffield
Department Name: School of Biosciences
Abstract
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Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Mikko Ilmari Juusola (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Bridges AD
(2024)
Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone.
in Nature
Juusola M
(2025)
Theory of morphodynamic information processing: Linking sensing to behaviour.
in Vision research
| Description | Traditionally, insect vision has been understood to rely primarily on electrical and chemical signals to sample, process and transmit information, with eyes and brains operating as simple input-output systems constrained by fixed structures. Our ongoing work has revealed that fruit fly eyes can perform rapid 'photomechanical' movements, including tiny photoreceptor shifts (microsaccades) and larger, muscle-driven shifts of the entire retina. We suspect these coordinated movements, driven by attentive synaptic feedback from the brain, enable insects to zoom in on crucial visual details and actively shape how they collect 3D information. To study this in detail, we have now developed (together with our Industrial collaborator - Dev Joni) a novel Multi Sensory Apparatus, MUSA, that can see inside the living fly eye (based on six high-speed mini-microscopes operating in infrared wavelength) to measure these interactions noninvasively. Our current work focuses on revealing the local and global mechanisms and dynamics of this interaction-and its benefits- and applying/testing these findings to enhance the 3D imaging facility of dynamic camera systems. |
| Exploitation Route | We are making the software codes and hardware designs open-source (in GitHub); freely available when publishing this work. |
| Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Electronics Manufacturing including Industrial Biotechology |
| URL | https://devjoni.com/about/academic-collaboration-musa.html |
| Description | Hooke Theo Murphy Grant, The Royal Society: "Bridging Animal and Artificial Intelligence" (HTMR\100130) to organise a scientific meeting |
| Amount | £15,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | The Royal Society |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2026 |
| End | 03/2026 |
| Description | How do ultrafast morphodynamic synaptic adaptations enhance visual information flow? |
| Amount | € 200,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | LS-3339 |
| Organisation | European Synchrotron Radiation Facility |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | France |
| Start | 03/2024 |
| End | 03/2024 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary Workshop Grant (NIBAI-2025): "Nature of Intelligence, Bridging Animal and Artificial Intelligence" |
| Amount | £5,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NIBAI-2025 |
| Organisation | The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2025 |
| End | 09/2025 |
| Description | Synaptic morphodynamics (SMD): information processing by mechanical movement |
| Amount | £495,620 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | RPG-2024-016 |
| Organisation | The Leverhulme Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2024 |
| End | 10/2027 |
| Title | MUSA, a multisensory apparatus |
| Description | Multichannel High-speed Infrared Microscopy. With our Industrial collaborator DEV-Joni (Finland), we developed MUSA, a multisensory apparatus comprising six high-speed IR (850-940nm) mini-microscopes arranged around a tethered Drosophila on a trackball. These microscopes provide simultaneous, noninvasive monitoring of photoreceptor microsaccades and muscle-induced retinal movements in both compound eyes. MUSA also features an x-y-z piezo-manipulator for precisely positioning 3D objects relative to the fly, either in closed-loop (fly controls object position) or open-loop mode (experimenter controls movement). The visual stimulus is illuminated by UV (350nm) light; flies cannot detect IR, so they remain unaware that retinal movements are being recorded. Consequently, MUSA tracks how the fly eye actively accommodates-via microsaccades and vergence-to focus the UV-lit test object. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | With MUSA, we aim to determine whether insects-such as fruit flies (Drosophila)-can adjust and focus their vision in a manner akin to vertebrates, and whether this capability enables them to select and track objects of interest neurally across four dimensions (3D space plus time). |
| URL | https://devjoni.com/about/academic-collaboration-musa.html |
| Description | Alice Bridges interviewed for Agence-France Presse by Juliette Collen (March 2024) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Alice Bridges was interviewed for an article for Agence-France Presse (published in English on barrons.com) about the study "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.barrons.com/news/not-just-humans-bees-and-chimps-can-also-pass-on-their-skills-120bea84 |
| Description | Alice Bridges interviewed for DIE ZEIT by Ulrich Schnabel (March 2024) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Alice Bridges was interviewed for an article in DIE ZEIT about the study "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone", which appeared both in print and online. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.zeit.de/2024/11/tiere-intelligenz-hummeln-menschenaffen-kultur |
| Description | Alice Bridges interviewed for Diario ABC by Patricia Biosca (March 2024) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Alice Bridges was interviewed for an article for Diario ABC about the study "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.abc.es/ciencia/personas-unicos-animales-cultura-chimpances-abejas-ensenan-20240306190404... |
| Description | Alice Bridges interviewed for El Pais by Daniel Mediavilla (March 2024) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Alice Bridges was interviewed for an article in El Pais about the study "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2024-03-10/bees-and-chimpanzees-can-learn-socially-just-like... |
| Description | Alice Bridges interviewed for Haaretz by Gidón Lev (March 2024, publication TBA) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Alice Bridges was interviewed for an article in Haaretz about the study "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Alice Bridges interviewed for New Scientist by Sofia Quaglia (March 2024) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Alice Bridges was interviewed for an article in New Scientist about the study "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.newscientist.com/article/2420960-bumblebees-show-each-other-how-to-solve-complex-puzzles... |
| Description | Alice Bridges interviewed for a prerecorded broadcast on SWR2 "Impuls" (4th March 2024) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Alice Bridges was interviewed for a prerecorded broadcast on SWR2's "Impuls" program by Elisabeth Theodoropoulos, about the study "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Alice Bridges interviewed for a prerecorded broadcast on Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (WDR) with Joachim Budde (1st March 2024) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Alice Bridges was interviewed for a prerecorded broadcast on the WGR science programme by Joachim Budde, about the study "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Alice Bridges interviewed for an article in Scientific American by Rachel Nuwer (5th March 2024) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Alice Bridges was interviewed for an article for Scientific American about the study "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-thought-only-humans-learn-complex-behaviors-fr... |
| Description | Alice Bridges interviewed for article on sentientmedia.org by Björn Ólafsson (12th March 2024, publication date TBA) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Supporters |
| Results and Impact | Alice Bridges was interviewed for an article on sentientmedia.org about the study "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Alice Bridges interviewed for prerecorded CBC "Quirks and Quarks" broadcast with Bob McDonald (13th March 2024, airing date TBC) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Alice Bridges was interviewed for a prerecorded broadcast on the CBC programme "Quirks and Quarks" by Bob McDonald, about the study "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Alice Bridges interviewed for prerecorded Swiss Radio broadcast with Christian von Burg (5th March 2024) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Alice Bridges was interviewed for a prerecorded broadcast on Swiss Radio by Christian von Burg, about the study "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Alice Bridges interviewed on Radio 5 Live Breakfast by Rick Edwards and Nina Warhurst (8th March 2024, 6:50am UK time) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Alice Bridges was interviewed live for Radio 5 Live by Rick Edwards and Nina Warhurst about the study "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Alice Bridges interviewed on Times Radio (7th March 2024, 6.25pm UK time) with presenter John Pienaar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Alice Bridges was interviewed live for Times Radio by John Pienaar about the study "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | An article for Twig Science Reporter (March 2024 publication date TBA) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | An article on the study "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone" was prepared for a target audience of children aged 7-11 to be released on Twig Science Reporter, which is made in conjunction with Imperial College London and is free to access across schools in the UK and USA. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | An article published on Yahoo News Taiwan (March 2024) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An article on Yahoo News (Taiwan) was published about "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://tw.news.yahoo.com/%E5%A4%A7%E9%BB%83%E8%9C%82%E9%A9%9A%E8%B1%94%E7%A7%91%E5%AD%B8%E7%95%8C-%... |
| Description | Article on ScienceAlert (by Carly Cassella) (March 2024) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An article on ScienceAlert.com was published about "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.sciencealert.com/bees-reveal-a-human-like-collective-intelligence-we-never-knew-existed |
| Description | Article published in Chosun Biz (March 2024) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An article on Chosen Biz was published about "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://biz.chosun.com/science-chosun/nature-environment/2024/03/07/IBVEHROAHJHJ7CBP4NTTDD2OXQ/ |
| Description | Article published in Der Spiegel (by Johann Grolle) (March 2024) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An article in Der Spiegel was published about "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/natur/schimpansen-oder-hummeln-wer-ist-schlauer-a-1e5b92d2-a862-... |
| Description | Article published in The Korea Economic Daily (March 2024) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An article in The Korean Economic Daily was published about "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.hankyung.com/article/202403072657Y |
| Description | Article published in The Times (by Rhys Blakely) (March 2024) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An article in The Times was published about the study "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bumblebees-teach-each-other-how-to-unlock-doors-and-find-treats-2... |
| Description | Article published in the London Evening Standard (6th March 2024) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An article in the London Evening Standard was published about the study "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Article published on BBC News (by Ian Aikman) (March 2024) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An article on BBC News was published about the study "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68501263 |
| Description | Article published on ethologisch.de (by Niklas Kastner) (March 2024) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An article on ethologisch.de was published about "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://ethologisch.de/neue-erkenntnisse-zum-sozialen-lernen-bei-schimpansen-und-hummeln/ |
| Description | Article published on phys.org (by Queen Mary University of London) (March 2024) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | A press release by QMUL was published on phys.org for the study "Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://phys.org/news/2024-03-bumblebees-scientists-advanced-social-skills.html |