An unmanned air vehicle incorporating information-processing technology based on how insects fly and navigate has been demonstrated to NASA as a precursor to a future Mars aerial probe, writes Emma Kelly.
Australia's Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) and the Australian National University (ANU) flew the UAV in California's Mojave Desert last week, presenting to a team from NASA's Ames Research Center and Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The demonstrations follow years of research by the DSTO, led by Dr Javaan Chahl, into how insects fly and navigate and how to apply the data to autonomous vehicles. In particular the team studied the ocelli - a sensor found on a dragonfly's head that acts as a second set of eyes - and found a complex optical and neural arrangement that helps the insect maintain level flight under adverse conditions.
The research has resulted in a small delta-wing aircraft equipped with an array of simple sensors and cameras, allowing the vehicle to avoid collision with the ground. The UAV also has a sun compass that uses the polarisation pattern of skylight, which the DSTO says would be necessary on Mars, which has no magnetic field.
Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation has developed an airborne surveillance system to check clearance space around powerlines. The system combines stereo computer vision technology with a geographic information system and software to measure the distance between powerlines and trees. Information is presented as three-dimensional images. The system, fitted to aircraft wings, allows hundreds of kilometres of powerlines to be checked in one flight.Source: Flight International
