New study illuminates how tiny flies solve complex navigational
challenges
University of Minnesota and Imperial College London research offers
valuable insights for efforts to design robots, drones and more.

Date:
February 16, 2022
Source:
University of Minnesota
Summary:
The Gnat Ogre is a tiny predator that grabs other insects out of the
air, catching them with extreme precision. New research reveals how
and may have implications for future nature-inspired innovations.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
For those of us who occasionally trip over a curb or bump into a door
frame, it's hard to imagine an organism with a brain smaller than the
period at the end of this sentence deftly maneuvering around obstacles
while chasing fast- moving prey on the wing. A new study in the Journal
of Experimental Biology by researchers from the University of Minnesota
and the Imperial College London shows how a tiny fly can do just that -- offering a valuable source of insights for efforts to design robots,
drones and more.


==========================================================================
The research, carried out by Paloma Gonzalez-Bellido, Mary Sumner, and
Trevor Wardill of the University of Minnesota's College of Biological
Sciences, and Sam Fabian of the Imperial College London Department
of Bioengineering, focuses on the aerial feats of a miniature robber
fly known as a gnat ogre -- adults are tiny, just 7 mm in length on
average. Native to North and South America, the gnat ogre is known for
its ability to pursue and capture other insects in flight with extreme precision. It's remarkable enough that this insect's tiny brain can steer
it to catch an object on the move. Even more remarkable is that it can
avoid running into obstacles at the same time. The researchers set out
to investigate how the tiny fly combines the two sets of brain-to-muscle instructions.

"Predatory lifestyles put a premium on neural performance to move quickly
and precisely, and this pressure is exacerbated in miniature animals,
because they have fewer neurons," said Gonzalez-Bellido, who leads the Fly Systems Laboratory (FLYSY) at the University of Minnesota. "Still, Gnat
ogres intercept their prey -- similar to catching an over-the-shoulder
pass in football -- so we wanted to know how flexible their strategy
is, and if these flies could cope with additional challenges during
the interception, such as obstacles on their path." With the help of
plastic bait, fishing wire, and high-speed video, they pursued an answer
by observing gnat ogres as they pursued a moving target. Comparing video recordings of the fly chasing the bait in the presence of obstacles with
flight trajectories predicted by models of obstacle-eluding flight and
moving- object-pursuing flight, the researchers found that gnat ogres continuously adjusted their path based on the mix of the two types of
visual stimuli. If the obstacle was large enough to obscure the prey for
more than 70 milliseconds, the insect was likely to abandon the chase. But
if the line of sight was barely interrupted, the chase continued after
the fly cleared the obstacle.

"We discovered that simple visual feedback alone -- reacting to things
rather than predicting ahead -- can be used to quickly solve complex
navigation challenges," says Fabian, who completed his Ph.D. in the
FLYSY Lab. "This work shows that even creatures with comparatively tiny
brains are quite capable of performing extreme and precise behavior
at speeds we can barely see, let alone appreciate." The researchers
attribute the fly's ability to adjust its trajectory so rapidly to its
small size, which allows signals to travel rapidly from eye to brain to
flight muscles. Future research will include testing what information
small animals can gain about their target before they take off and how
they know what to attack. The findings may have implications for other
fields exploring nature-inspired innovation, too.

"Current robotics technology tends to use extra, expensive sensors to
conduct tasks like obstacle avoidance (e.g. LIDAR or RADAR). However,
animals, like our robber flies, manage to conduct multiple tasks
simultaneously using information only from their visual system
(i.e. tracking the motion of a distant target and processing the position
and expansion of potential obstacles), and on a tiny energy budget,"
says Fabian. "Getting a clearer understanding of how they combine this
sensory information to generate accurate and rapid behavioral responses
to complex navigational challenges could help inspire future innovation
in the robotic sensing capabilities." This research was supported
by the United States Air Force Office for Scientific Research, Isaac
Newton Trust, Wellcome Trust, University of Cambridge, Biotechnology
and Biological Sciences Research Council and Imperial College London.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Minnesota. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Samuel T. Fabian, Mary E. Sumner, Trevor J. Wardill, Paloma
T. Gonzalez-
Bellido. Avoiding obstacles while intercepting a moving target:
a miniature fly's solution. Journal of Experimental Biology, 2022;
225 (4) DOI: 10.1242/jeb.243568 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220216130322.htm

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