Bio-inspired modeling and implementation of the ocelli visual system of flying insects

Biol Cybern. 2014 Dec;108(6):735-46. doi: 10.1007/s00422-014-0610-x. Epub 2014 Sep 13.

Abstract

Two visual sensing modalities in insects, the ocelli and compound eyes, provide signals used for flight stabilization and navigation. In this article, a generalized model of the ocellar visual system is developed for a 3-D visual simulation environment based on behavioral, anatomical, and electrophysiological data from several species. A linear measurement model is estimated from Monte Carlo simulation in a cluttered urban environment relating state changes of the vehicle to the outputs of the ocellar model. A fully analog-printed circuit board sensor based on this model is designed and fabricated. Open-loop characterization of the sensor to visual stimuli induced by self motion is performed. Closed-loop stabilizing feedback of the sensor in combination with optic flow sensors is implemented onboard a quadrotor micro-air vehicle and its impulse response is characterized.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Compound Eye, Arthropod / physiology*
  • Computer Simulation*
  • Computers, Analog*
  • Equipment Design
  • Feedback, Sensory
  • Flight, Animal / physiology*
  • Models, Neurological*
  • Monte Carlo Method
  • Optic Flow
  • Software
  • Spatial Behavior / physiology
  • Visual Pathways / physiology*