A Neuromorphic Camera for Tracking Passive and Active Matter with Lower Data Throughput

The merits of using a neuromorphic, or event-based camera (EBC), for tracking of both passive and active matter are demonstrated. For passive matter, the Brownian motion of different micro-particles is tracked and their diffusion coefficients are estimated. For active matter, the case of tracking murine spermatozoa is explored and motility parameters are extracted from the motion of cells. This has applications in enhancing outcomes for clinical fertility treatments. Using the EBC, results equivalent to those from an sCMOS camera are obtained, while achieving a reduction in file size of up to two orders of magnitude. This is important in the modern computer era, as it reduces data throughput, and is well-aligned with edge-computing applications. The EBC is considered an excellent choice, particularly for long-term studies of active matter.