Insect-inspired autonomous navigation strategy for tiny, lightweight robots
Researchers at TU Delft developed an insect-inspired navigation strategy for lightweight robots. It combines visual recognition and step counting, allowing robots to return home efficiently. Tested on a 56g drone, covering 100m with minimal memory.
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Researchers at TU Delft have developed an insect-inspired autonomous navigation strategy for tiny, lightweight robots. Drawing inspiration from how ants navigate back to their nest, the strategy combines visual recognition of the environment with step counting. This approach enables robots to return home after long journeys using minimal computation and memory resources. The researchers successfully tested the strategy on a 56-gram drone, demonstrating its effectiveness in covering distances up to 100 meters with only 0.65 kilobytes of memory. This innovation opens up possibilities for applications such as warehouse stock monitoring and industrial site inspections. By leveraging nature's navigation principles, the researchers have paved the way for the practical deployment of small autonomous robots in various real-world scenarios.
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1 commentsWait, what? I thought ants followed pheremone trails?
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