[DefenseSystems] Drones "need to react quickly to moving objects in uneven lighting conditions. Conventional video cameras are too slow and specialized high-frame rate cameras produce too much data to process in real time," said a spokesperson from iniLabs, an industry collaborator.
To solve this problem, the newly developed Dynamic Vision Sensor (DVS) technology mimics the human eye’s ability to focus on specific areas that have low-light intensity, according to David Scaramuzza, Director of the Robotics Perception Group at the University of Zurich.
In order to devote extra processing power to the darker frame areas, the DVS technology does not constantly update the entire image frame. Instead, it relies on stored memories of the unchanged parts of the frame and matches them with the highly-focused input from the low-light areas to complete the view.
"Instead of wastefully sending entire images at fixed frame rates, only the local pixel-level changes cause by movement in a scene are transmitted," explained Scaramuzza.
The ability to "see" in the dark is an important component of developing non-GPS reliant drones.
"Small, low-cost unmanned aircraft rely heavily on tele-operators and GPS, " explained JC Ledé, Program Manager for the Fast Lightweight Autonomy program at DARPA. However, GPS signals are susceptible to jamming and disruption. As a result, DARPA, industry developers, and research teams are working on alternative methods for position, timing, and navigation (PNT), including ways to "see" in the dark.
Rods, cones and Hellfires. 
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