Aerodynamic imaging by mosquitoes inspires a surface detector for autonomous flying vehicles

Nakata, T; Phillips, N; Simões, P; Russell, I J; Cheney, J A; Walker, S M; Bomphrey, R J

Abstract

Some flying animals use active sense to perceive and avoid obstacles. Nocturnal mosquitoes exhibit a behavioral response to divert away from surfaces when vision is unavailable, indicating a short-range, mechanosensory collision avoidance mechanism. We suggest this behavior is mediated by perceiving modulations of their self-induced airflow patterns as they enter ground or wall effect. We use computational fluid dynamics simulations of low-altitude and near-wall flights, based on in vivo high-speed kinematic measurements, to quantify changes in the self-generated pressure and velocity cues at the sensitive, mechanosensory, antennae. We validated the principle that encoding aerodynamic information can enable collision avoidance using a quadcopter with a sensory system inspired by the mosquito. Such low power sensing systems have major potential for future, safer, rotorcraft control systems.

Citation

Nakata, T., Phillips, N., Simões, P., Russell, I. J., Cheney, J. A., Walker, S. M., & Bomphrey, R. J. (2020). Aerodynamic imaging by mosquitoes inspires a surface detector for autonomous flying vehicles. Science, 368(6491), 634-637. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaz9634

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 2, 2020
• Publication Date: May 8, 2020
• Deposit Date: Apr 24, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: May 26, 2020
• Journal: Science
• Print ISSN: 0036-8075
• Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 368
• Issue: 6491
• Pages: 634-637
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaz9634
• Public URL: https://rvc-repository.worktribe.com/output/1377410