Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
A one million pound project to simulate a bee’s brain and implant it into an autonomous flying robot has created a real buzz.
The research, carried out by scientists from the UK Universities of Sheffield and Sussex, aims to create models of the neural systems in a bee’s brain that helps it make sense of what it sees and smells.
If the project is successful, the flying robot would be able to use its sense of smell to detect gases or other odours and then home-in on the source. The mini robotic wonders could then potentially be used to help in search and rescue missions or work on farms mechanically pollinating crops.
Dr James Marshall, a computer scientist at the University of Sheffield co-ordinating the project, said the project was a ‘major challenge’ in artificial intelligence.
“Many of the attempts to recreate biological brains in silicon have focused on the cognitive systems found in humans, monkeys and mice.
“But, simpler organisms such as social insects have surprisingly advanced cognitive abilities,” he said.
Honey bees are believed to use the position of the sun as a reference point when trying to find their way back to their hive.
“Because the honey bee brain is smaller and more accessible than any vertebrate brain, we hope to eventually be able to produce an accurate and complete model that we can test within a flying robot,” Added Dr Marshall.
The universities are using GPU accelerators to perform the massive calculations needed to simulate a brain using a standard desktop PC, instead of an expensive supercomputer.
The research team from the universities hopes the simulation will produce a robot that can make decisions about what it senses rather than just carrying out pre-programmed tasks.
