Insect-inspired autonomous vehicle system could improve safety

Tesla and other bidders autonomous driving It often uses radar and LiDAR technology to avoid collisions, but existing autonomous systems don’t work very well at night.. Researchers from Pennsylvania State University in the USA have created an autonomous system to give drivers a safer option. vermin.

A study of the research was published in the scientific journal American Chemical Society nanoLed by Professor Saptarshi Das. To produce a sensor similar to the natural one, they studied the neural networks of insects such as grasshoppers and figured out how animals avoid collision or being caught by predators.

So the scientists designed an algorithm based on the neural circuits of insects. With the new system, for example, instead of processing the entire image to avoid an obstacle, only one variable will be processed: the intensity of the headlights of the surrounding cars. – that is, a vehicle will not need several cameras distributed all over the place.

“Here, we show that insect-inspired collision detection algorithms can greatly simplify collision detection at night, when applied in conjunction with on-sensor processing and activated by innovative optoelectronic integrated circuits based on photosensitive, atomically thin memtransistor technology,” published in the study.

autonomous insect sensor

In this way, the researchers created an optoelectronic sensor that uses eight photosensitive “memtransistors” from a layer of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2). At just 40 square micrometres, the sensor uses only a few hundred picojoules—requiring much less power than conventional sensors. In real scenario tests, the technology was able to predict an accident about two to three seconds before it happened.

The time may even seem short, but the time it takes for the driver or the autonomous vehicle system to correct the vehicle and prevent an accident may be three seconds. According to the scientists, the idea is that the sensor will improve existing options, but likely not replace the insect-inspired system.

“We firmly believe that the proposed collision detectors could augment the existing sensors needed to ensure autonomous vehicle safety,” the scientists said in the study. Said.