South Australian University scientists are using biology from insects to build robots with a brain. This technology could be a game changer for many, especially national security and defence. One of the major functions of these robots would be to interpret the environment besides taking pictures.
Dr Russel Brinkworth, Flinders University Associate professor for autonomous systems says that he is giving a robot a brain. The brain with a vision can understand its environment. He said, ‘’Our current robots work well in structured environments that don’t change. That sounds complex- but they’re all the same.’’
He believes cars have the same assembly line, same parts, same environment and lighting but real life isn’t that all. He adds, “There’s always changes, so we need to build robots that can adapt to the environment, rather than forcing the environment to adapt to the robots.”
Humans and insects interpret the world in a similar way
Dr Brinkworth says we humans and insects similarly interpret the world. However, we do it on a larger scale. According to him, the robot can detect drones or surveillance balloons kilometres away. It’s far more advanced than current cameras.
Dr Malcolm Davis, Senior Analyst at the Australian Strategic policy institute believes biology is important for robots. He said, “ we want them to be flexible and in effect, to be able to operate as humans do.’’
Furthermore, the battle space is a complex, rapidly changing environment-we that can’t afford to have autonomous systems or robots, essentially requiring human oversight.’’
Dr Brinkworth said the technology could one day be used to build an eye for the blind.
“If somebody was blind, you can’t just put a camera on them, you have to find a way of giving that information to the person,” he said.
To be able to achieve success in the field we need to understand how the visual system in animals works.
