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Astonishing 3D footage of ants recorded using 54-camera set-up

An imaging technique has allowed researchers to record detailed three-dimensional video of small creatures, including ants, flies and zebrafish larvae

By Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

20 March 2023

The new camera set-up has been used to film harvester ants

Nature Picture Library/Alamy

Stitching video together from 54 cameras using AI produces incredibly detailed three-dimensional videos. The technique has been used to film many tiny creatures at once.

To understand why large groups of small animals, like ants or flies, behave the way they do, researchers want to see what every individual in the group is doing in each moment. But recording devices can normally capture either a single animal in great detail or many animals without those details, says Kevin Zhou at the University of California, Berkeley.…

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