insect eyes to be more agile?

An artificial eye inspired by the eyes of Drosophila flies was developed by researchers at EPFL. Its goal ? Equip drones and small robots to make them more agile by detecting the obstacles around them!

Ah technology! By drawing inspiration as often from the nature around us, and this time from the special eyes of Drosophila flies, it was possible to create an artificial eye that could allow drones to be more agile in flight. All this thanks to the ommatidia, which make up the miracles of insects. These visual receivers, slightly offset from each other, have the properties of allow flies to collect a lot of information, giving them the possibility of perfectly perceiving their environment and react very quickly to the movements of the things around them, even in the dark.

The development of the CurvACE system has required the work of several teams of researchers, Lausanne EPFL, Fraunhofer Institut com Jena, University of Tübingen, CNRS, University of Aix-Marseille. The eye sensor has three hexagonal photon detectors, covered with a lens. Although the image is not of excellent quality, the information transmitted by it is sufficient to detect objects in the vicinity and their potential movements. The device is able to adapt to various lights, just like the eyes of the insects from which it is inspired. He is also able torecord 300 frames per second, is three times more than a fly's eye.

More resourceful drones

[Embed] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKi5wSpslPE [/ embed] 

CurvACE has a 180 ° horizontal and 60 ° vertical field of vision, notably enabled thanks to its singular shape, which has left sufficient space for its creators to integrate, at the level of the internal cavity, on-board microelectronics. This will allow the eye to analyze the collected data in real time by the sensors and if necessary transmit the order to the robot on which it is installed to move. One of the main purposes of the artificial eye is tobe used on very small drones in order to improve their autonomy on the ground, by enabling them to detect and react to the environment around them. To work, the eye does not require a lot of energy, a significant asset and a creation that could definitely be useful on devices intended for surveillance or rescue missions.

More than drones, researchers are also focus on a possible smart health connected cap, capable of supporting blind people by detecting possible obstacles around them and alerting by vibration. The automotive sector could also show interest in the device, in particular to avoid car collisions.

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