Canberra: The way a common bee observes colours could revolutionise the way robots and drones see the world, an Australian study published on Tuesday found.
A human's ability to see colour is heavily affected by changing light around them, but bees are able to see the same colour regardless by using three eyes on top of their head as well as their two main eyes, reports Xinhua news agency.
Adrian Dyer, the lead author of a study into bee's vision published by the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University on Monday, said that the three eyes on top of a bee's head sample the light above them to detect the conditions.
Dyer said the discovery of how the three eyes work could solve the long-running problem of how to advance the technology that allows cameras, robots and drones to see the world.
By analysing the process, researchers identified the mathematical formula used by a bee to process information gathered by the three eyes, information which can be programmed into a computer.
They believe that drones with "bee-vision" could have many practical applications, such as monitoring vegetation for ripeness and inspecting infrastructure.