Ants and other insects have strong "pathfinding" abilities, and can easily find their way back home even when traveling far. Researchers from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands recently published a paper in the American journal Science Robotics, stating that they drew inspiration from the visual navigation capabilities of insects such as ants to create an insect inspired autonomous navigation strategy suitable for micro and lightweight robots. Micro robots weighing from tens to hundreds of grams have enormous potential for application. Their compact size allows them to move flexibly in narrow areas and enable large-scale deployment, such as being used for detecting early pests and diseases in greenhouses. However, autonomous navigation is a challenge for micro robots. Sensors, processors, etc. carried by larger AI devices such as autonomous vehicle are relatively heavy and consume a lot of power, so micro robots cannot carry them; The Global Positioning System (GPS) is difficult to use indoors and may result in inaccurate positioning in obstructed urban environments. The researchers came up with the idea of seeking inspiration from some insects that are also small in size but have the ability to "recognize paths". Previous studies have shown that insects such as ants can combine "distance measurement" of their own movement with visual guidance behavior based on "snapshots" to navigate themselves. During their movement, ants use their visual system to occasionally take "snapshots" of their surrounding environment as a basis for rediscovering these positions. When they reach the vicinity of the "snapshot" position, they will compare their current visual perception with the "snapshot" and move to the place where the difference between the two is minimized, which allows them to navigate back to the position where the "snapshot" was taken before. Based on this principle, researchers have developed a micro robot using a "snapshot" navigation mode - a small drone named "CrazyFlie" weighing only 56 grams. It is equipped with an omnidirectional camera, which can be combined with "mileage measurement" to find the various positions where it left a "snapshot", and can achieve autonomous return for up to 100 meters. All visual processing is centralized on a microcomputer called a "microcontroller", which is commonly found in many inexpensive electronic devices. Researchers say that autonomous navigation strategies inspired by insects can help promote the widespread application of micro robots in real-world scenarios, such as warehouse inventory tracking and monitoring or greenhouse crop monitoring, while small drones can autonomously fly out to collect data and return to base stations. (New Society)