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Proceedings Article

Robot navigation inspired by principles of insect vision

TL;DR: In this paper, a number of elegant strategies that can be profitably applied to the design of autonomous robots are described, such as the "peering" behaviour of grasshoppers and the "centring" response of bees flying through a tunnel.
Abstract: Recent studies of insect visual behaviour and navigation reveal a number of elegant strategies that can be profitably applied to the design of autonomous robots. The “peering” behaviour of grasshoppers, for example, has inspired the design of new rangefinding systems. The “centring” response of bees flying through a tunnel has led to simple methods for navigating through corridors. These and other visually-mediated insect behaviours are described along with a number of applications to robot navigation.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The system dynamic models which include several elements that are substantially different from those present in fixed or rotary wing MAVs, namely micromechanical flying insects (MFIs), are described.
Abstract: This paper presents the mathematical modeling of flapping flight inch-size micro aerial vehicles (MAVs), namely micromechanical flying insects (MFIs). The target robotic insects are electromechanical devices propelled by a pair of independent flapping wings to achieve sustained autonomous flight, thereby mimicking real insects. In this paper, we describe the system dynamic models which include several elements that are substantially different from those present in fixed or rotary wing MAVs. These models include the wing-thorax dynamics, the flapping flight aerodynamics at a low Reynolds number regime, the body dynamics, and the biomimetic sensory system consisting of ocelli, halteres, magnetic compass, and optical flow sensors. The mathematical models are developed based on biological principles, analytical models, and experimental data. They are presented in the Virtual Insect Flight Simulator (VIFS) and are integrated together to give a realistic simulation for MFI and insect flight. VIFS is a software tool intended for modeling flapping flight mechanisms and for testing and evaluating the performance of different flight control algorithms

352 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is argued that in building robot models biological relevance is more effective than loose biological inspiration; multiple levels can be integrated; that generality cannot be assumed but might emerge from studying specific instances; abstraction is better done by simplification than idealisation; accuracy can be approached through iterations of complete systems; that the model should be able to match and predict target behaviour; and that a physical medium can have significant advantages.
Abstract: How should biological behaviour be modelled? A relatively new approach is to investigate problems in neuroethology by building physical robot models of biological sensorimotor systems. The explication and justification of this approach are here placed within a framework for describing and comparing models in the behavioural and biological sciences. First, simulation models – the representation of a hypothesis about a target system – are distinguished from several other relationships also termed “modelling” in discussions of scientific explanation. Seven dimensions on which simulation models can differ are defined and distinctions between them discussed:1. Relevance: whether the model tests and generates hypotheses applicable to biology.2. Level: the elemental units of the model in the hierarchy from atoms to societies.3. Generality: the range of biological systems the model can represent.4. Abstraction: the complexity, relative to the target, or amount of detail included in the model.5. Structural accuracy: how well the model represents the actual mechanisms underlying the behaviour.6. Performance match: to what extent the model behaviour matches the target behaviour.7. Medium: the physical basis by which the model is implemented.No specific position in the space of models thus defined is the only correct one, but a good modelling methodology should be explicit about its position and the justification for that position. It is argued that in building robot models biological relevance is more effective than loose biological inspiration; multiple levels can be integrated; that generality cannot be assumed but might emerge from studying specific instances; abstraction is better done by simplification than idealisation; accuracy can be approached through iterations of complete systems; that the model should be able to match and predict target behaviour; and that a physical medium can have significant advantages. These arguments reflect the view that biological behaviour needs to be studied and modelled in context, that is, in terms of the real problems faced by real animals in real environments.

339 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
07 Aug 2002
TL;DR: A new image-based control strategy for visual servoing of a class of under-actuated rigid body systems is presented, novel in considering the full dynamic system incorporating all degrees of freedom and in not requiring measurement of the relative depths of the observed image points.
Abstract: A new image-based control strategy for visual servoing of a class of under-actuated rigid body systems is presented. The proposed control design applies to "eye-in-hand" systems where the camera is fixed to a rigid body with actuated dynamics. The control design is motivated by a theoretical analysis of the dynamic equations of motion of a rigid body and exploits passivity-like properties of these dynamics to derive a Lyapunov control algorithm using robust backstepping techniques. The proposed control is novel in considering the full dynamic system incorporating all degrees of freedom (albeit for a restricted class of dynamics) and in not requiring measurement of the relative depths of the observed image points. A motivating application is the stabilization of a scale model autonomous helicopter over a marked landing pad.

300 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Experimental results show that the proposed vision-based autopilot enabled a small rotorcraft to achieve fully-autonomous flight using information extracted from optic flow.

274 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Models and algorithms which allow for efficient course stabilization and collision avoidance using optic flow and inertial information are described.
Abstract: We aim at developing autonomous microflyers capable of navigating within houses or small indoor environments using vision as the principal source of information. Due to severe weight and energy constraints, inspiration is taken from the fly for the selection of sensors, for signal processing, and for the control strategy. The current 30-g prototype is capable of autonomous steering in a 16/spl times/16 m textured environment. This paper describes models and algorithms which allow for efficient course stabilization and collision avoidance using optic flow and inertial information.

245 citations

References
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01 Aug 1988
TL;DR: In this article, a search of such sequences of steps that would minimize a loss function while still seeking the most information is formulated as a search for the sequence of steps to minimize the loss function.
Abstract: Active perception (active vision specifically) is defined as a study of modeling and control strategies for perception. Local methods are distinguished from global models by their extent of application in space and time. The local models represent procedures and parameters such as optical distortions of the lens, focal lens, spatial resolution, bandpass filter, etc, The global models, on the other hand, characterize the overall performance and make predictions on how the individual modules interact. The control strategies are formulated as a search of such sequences of steps that would minimize a loss function while still seeking the most information. Examples are shown as the existence proof of the proposed theory on obtaining range from focus and stereo/vergence on 2-D segmentation of an image and 3-D shape parameterization. >

1,247 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The movement-sensitive mechanisms underlying these various behaviours seem to be different, qualitatively as well as quantitatively, from those mediating the well-investigated optomotor response.
Abstract: Recent research has uncovered a number of different ways in which bees use cues derived from optic flow for navigational purposes. The distance flown to a food source is gauged by integrating the apparent motion of the visual world that is experienced en route. In other words, bees possess a visually driven 'odometer' that is robust to variations in wind load and energy expenditure. Bees flying through a tunnel maintain equidistance to the flanking walls by balancing the apparent speeds of the images of the walls. This strategy enables them to negotiate narrow passages or to fly between obstacles. The speed of flight in a tunnel is controlled by holding constant the average image velocity as seen by the two eyes. This avoids potential collisions by ensuring that the bee slows down when flying through narrow passages. Bees landing on a horizontal surface hold constant the image velocity of the surface as they approach it. This automatically ensures that flight speed decreases with altitude and is close to zero at touchdown. The movement-sensitive mechanisms underlying these various behaviours seem to be different, qualitatively as well as quantitatively, from those mediating the well-investigated optomotor response.

630 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The understanding of some invertebrate sensory-motor systems has now reached a level able to provide valuable design hints and this approach brings into prominence the mutual constraints in the designs of a sensory and a motor system, in both living and non-living ambulatory creatures.
Abstract: Airborne insects are miniature w ing-flapping aircraft the visually guided manoeuvres of which depend on analogue, ‘fly-by-wire’ controls. The front-end of their visuomotor system consists of a pair of com pound eyes which are masterpieces of integrated optics and neural design. They rely on an array of passive sensors driving an orderly analogue neural network. We explored in concrete terms how motion-detecting neurons might possibly be used to solve navigational tasks involving obstacle avoidance in a creature whose wings are exquisitely guided by eyes with a poor spatial resolution. We designed, simulated, and built a complete terrestrial creature which moves about and avoids obstacles solely by evaluating the relative motion between itself and the environment. The compound eye uses an array of elementary motion detectors (emds) as smart, passive ranging sensors. Like its physiological counterpart, the visuomotor system is based on analogue, continuous-time processing and does not make use of conventional computers. It uses hardly any memory to adjust the robot’s heading in real time via a local and intermittent visuomotor feedback loop. This paper shows that the understanding of some invertebrate sensory-motor systems has now reached a level able to provide valuable design hints. Our approach brings into prominence the mutual constraints in the designs of a sensory and a motor system, in both living and non-living ambulatory creatures.

501 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A hypothesis is put forward of how global patterns of optical flow, as discussed by Gibson, Johansson, and others, could be processed by relatively simple physiological mechanisms and it is shown that the convexity cell is insensitive to rotations and in consequence responds in an invariant fashion to aspects of the optical flow which are related to the surrounding environment.
Abstract: A hypothesis is put forward of how global patterns of optical flow, as discussed by Gibson, Johansson, and others, could be processed by relatively simple physiological mechanisms. It is suggested that there may exist motion-sensitive cells in the visual system which operate on the optical flow over the retina, and, in so doing, structure the visual field in terms of distinct surfaces that move and/or lie at varying distances from the observer. First, concepts of static and dynamic perspective relative to a sphere centered about the eye are developed, partly on the basis of the work of Gordon. It is pointed out that the velocity flow pattern has a very simple form making it amenable to analysis by relatively low-level mechanisms. Next a higher-order variable of optical flow, the ‘convexity’, is defined; under the assumption of a rigid environment, convexity is shown to be related to relative depth. It is then postulated that velocity-sensitive cells having center—surround organization could be linked in s...

424 citations