Researchers are drawing inspiration from an ancient insect species that developed sophisticated navigation techniques 130 million years ago to improve navigation systems in modern drones, robots, and orbiting satellites.
The dung beetle is renowned for leveraging the celestial map of the Milky Way at dusk to navigate, specifically utilizing the constellation’s stellar alignment as a reference point to direct the rolling of dung pellets away from rival competitors.
In 2013, Swedish researchers pioneered a breakthrough discovery, which Australian engineers have since adapted and refined over the past decade. They’re using a novel approach inspired by the remarkable navigational abilities of dung beetles to create an AI sensor capable of accurately measuring the orientation of the Milky Way in low-light conditions.
A team led by Professor Javaan Chahl, a renowned distant sensing engineer at the College of South Australia, has employed computer vision techniques to demonstrate that the vast stripe of light comprising the Milky Way is impervious to motion blur, unlike individual stars.
Prof. Chahl notes that nocturnal dung beetles undergo extensive transformations in their heads and physicalities while rolling spheres of excrement across a terrain, relying on a consistent celestial orientation in the evening sky to guide their navigation in a straight trajectory. “Due to their minuscule compound eyes, distinguishing individual stars can be challenging, especially when they’re in motion against the backdrop of the prominent Milky Way.”
Researchers at UniSA conducted a series of experiments using a digital camera attached to the roof of a car, capturing images of the Milky Way while the vehicle was stationary and in motion. By leveraging data from these images, researchers have created a reliable PC vision system capable of accurately measuring the orientation of the Milky Way, a crucial first step towards developing a functional navigation system.
The study’s results were published in a recent issue of the journal.
According to UniSA PhD candidate Yiting Tao, the orientation sensor could serve as a fallback method for stabilising satellites, while also aiding drones and robots in navigating low-light environments where intense motion and vibration would otherwise produce significant blur.
“For the next phase, I intend to integrate the algorithm into a drone, enabling it to control the aircraft’s trajectory throughout an entire evening’s flight.”
The sun’s rays provide crucial guidance for various insects, including wasps, dragonflies, honeybees, and desert ants, as they navigate their daily routines. In the evening, the moon also serves as a reference point for nocturnal insects, but it’s not always visible; thus, dung beetles and certain moths rely on the Milky Way for navigation.
Professor Chahl notes that insect vision has long fascinated engineers in the context of navigating systems.
For centuries, tiny bugs have effortlessly corrected navigation flaws alongside humans who struggle to overcome similar challenges despite their possession of the most advanced technologies. So they’ve successfully packaged their work into a neat, compact form. Despite having tens of thousands of neurons compared to billions in humans, insects still manage to discover opportunities from the natural world.
