Self-driving cars see better with cameras that mimic mantis shrimp vision

A new type of camera more clearly maps objects as the vehicle travels

polarized camera view of street

EYE OF THE BEHOLDER  Driverless cars could soon spot danger by viewing the world through polarized cameras that can take in a wide range of exposures at once, much like the eyes of mantis shrimps.

Viktor Gruev/Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

To help self-driving cars drive safely, scientists are looking to an unlikely place: the sea.