# @dukeuniversity on YouTube

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://youtube.com/watch?v=JQl692wRbMA
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/36252912-dukeuniversity-youtube
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/9b2e26f6a1.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-10-28T20:12:52.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Duke University (@dukeuniversity) — https://gondola.cc/dukeuniversity

## Caption

What can a spider’s cousin teach us about camera design?

Graduate student Brendan Lan at Duke University studies the vision of harvestmen, spider-like arachnids with extraordinary eyes. Their tiny yet powerful optics may inspire new kinds of miniature cameras and offer a reminder that the creatures we fear most often help us see the world more clearly.

Brendan is conducting his research at the Shared Materials Instrumentation Facility (SMIF) lab on Duke University's campus. You can learn more about it here: https://smif.pratt.duke.edu/

Transcript:

00:00:02:10 - 00:00:04:00
Kids have bug phases.

00:00:04:00 - 00:00:07:00
I think I just never grew out of mine.

00:00:08:01 - 00:00:09:19
Check This Out!

00:00:09:19 - 00:00:12:19
I'm studying the vision of arachnids.

00:00:12:20 - 00:00:15:04
There's this specific species
that is a harvestmen.

00:00:15:04 - 00:00:19:02
and they have extremely large eyes
that seem to perform

00:00:19:02 - 00:00:22:02
better than their eye size would suggest.

00:00:22:02 - 00:00:25:14
Eyes like these have been shaped
by millions of years of evolution.

00:00:25:14 - 00:00:27:15
And if we can look to nature

00:00:27:15 - 00:00:31:05
we could create cameras
that are better than where we're at now.

00:00:31:09 - 00:00:32:17
Harvestmen are arachnids.

00:00:32:17 - 00:00:34:18
You may know them as Daddy Long legs.

00:00:34:18 - 00:00:37:09
But they're not spiders.
they're don't have any venom.

00:00:37:09 - 00:00:40:13
They don't spin any silk,
and they're totally harmless to people.

00:00:41:04 - 00:00:44:11
Spiders do so much more good 
than they do harm.

00:00:44:11 - 00:00:48:23
Globally, they consume
hundreds of tons of biomass a year.

00:00:49:01 - 00:00:52:01
And they indirectly affect crops.

00:00:52:01 - 00:00:55:11
I’m not expecting to change any arachnophobic
minds, but I hope that people

00:00:55:11 - 00:00:58:13
will view them
with respects rather than fear.

00:00:58:16 - 00:01:00:02
So sweet!

00:01:00:02 - 00:01:03:12
And maybe think about
instead of killing them, you know, moving

00:01:03:12 - 00:01:04:08
them out of your house.

00:01:05:08 - 00:01:07:22
If you like research videos 
like these, stick around and subscribe!



𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐃𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲

Established in 1924 in Durham, North Carolina, Duke University is one of the world’s leading institutions for education, research, and patient care.

Subscribe ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/@dukeuniversity 

𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 #𝐃𝐮𝐤𝐞𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲

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## Stats

- **Views:** 602
- **Likes:** 13
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 2

## Tags

dukeresearch, visualecology, science, arachnids, spiders, 𝐃𝐮𝐤𝐞𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲

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