A swarm of hundreds of millions of locusts rarely collide, and locusts must become heroes of autonom

2024-03-01

Recently, multiple countries were plagued by locust infestations. Hundreds of billions of locusts pass through, sweeping through all crops that can produce food.

But some researchers have also discovered something peculiar: there are very few collisions between locust groups with such a high density, and it seems that each locust can effectively avoid them.

Inspired by this feature, Pennsylvania State University in the United States began to develop low-power collision detectors, which can allow UAVs and autonomous vehicle to imitate locust collision avoidance reactions and reduce accidents.

It is reported that locusts have a special type of neuron in their bodies, which scientists refer to as the Leaf Giant Motion Detector (LGMD).

Under the action of this neuron, when a locust (locust A) is flying, if other locusts (locust B) approach, its image will be mapped into its eyes. The closer locust B is, the stronger its signal to trigger the neuron.

More importantly, the neuron can also analyze the angular velocity changes of locust B relative to locust A, avoiding collisions during avoidance.

Based on this study, the research team developed a nanoscale collision detector that can simulate the neuronal response of locusts with a small amount of energy, responding to oncoming objects by increasing the current.

However, the difficulty of this study is that locusts can only avoid collision with other locusts, while autonomous vehicle have to avoid not only other cars, but also pedestrians, roadblocks and other objects.

However, under the control of algorithms, the probability of misidentifying operations will be greatly reduced. Currently, the detector can react within two seconds of sensing an object.

Although it still cannot achieve the effect of changing direction within hundreds of milliseconds between locusts, it has certain practical value. Moreover, this sensor has low energy consumption and can work in conjunction with other sensors, bringing greater effectiveness.

Currently, autonomous driving technology has become the next trillion dollar market in the automotive industry, and any small technological progress in this industry may bring huge synergies.

We can only wait and see when this type of "locust sensor" will be able to leave the laboratory and be practical for loading into vehicles.

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