Cellular modeling of a fly photoreceptor

An essential part of both animal and machine vision is the sensory portion. Further, it can be argued that the eye or camera is amongst the most important parts of vision since performance limitations are primarily set at the sensory level. Thus, there exists a clear need for a good understanding of this level in the study of vision. As part of an effort to develop a comprehensive model of the fly's eye, a detailed model of its peripheral photoreceptors has been developed. The paper describes the portions of the model concerned with the flow of ions within each of these cells. The effectiveness of the model is addressed through a comparison of its performance with that found in the animal through experimentation. The paper is finished up with a brief discussion of the other work that has been conducted in the development of the comprehensive model of the fly's eye.