Driverless Cars Take A Cue From Dragonflies

As companies like

and

work to create a safe autonomous car, nature seems like the last place they might look for solutions. However,

say that the industry could benefit from technology mimicking the eyesight of a dragonfly; and say they've developed a system that can do just that.

Dragonflies have unique vision capabilities in that they have a wide field of vision and are able to detect rapid movements around them. While they are unable to focus on objects as well as a human eye might, they can detect things going on around them from any angle. This type of vision would be especially helpful for self-driving vehicles, which have to rely on sensors to anticipate sudden obstacles.

Now, researchers have used the dragonfly's 360 degree vision to design sensors which they've placed on a test robot. They are hoping the robot will eventually learn to use its ability to see movement at all angles in order to react to moving stimulus and predict what's to come. Many expect to see such technology making its way into the automobile space within the next decade.

Driverless car-makers aren't the only ones who could benefit from dragonfly eyes. The sensors would also improve current versions of bionic eyes by giving patients the ability to better detect sudden movements in their peripheral vision. The sensors could also be applied to robots working in a factory setting to help firms avoid accidents caused by fast-moving, clumsy machines that aren't able to sense when a person gets in their way.