Researchers want to give cars, planes and drones spider-like perception, and they want to equip autonomous machines with sensors that mimic nature. According to a paper published in ACS Nano, A team of researchers from Purdue University, Singapore's Nanyang Technological University and ETH Zurich said they got the idea for the sensor from spiders, It is recommended that the sensor be integrated into the housing of the automatic machine. This would allow vehicles to selectively process data, potentially faster than they currently do.

One of the reasons nature is able to process data so quickly is that animals such as spiders, bats and birds don't need to process all the data, they just need to process the information necessary to survive, the researchers explained. For example, when prey lands on a web, the hairs on the spider's legs vibrate at a specific frequency and stimulate mechanoreceptors. But when dust falls on the web, the mechanoreceptors don't respond to its vibrational frequency. Therefore, the researchers are working to develop a sensor that can react in a similar way, selectively processing information and reducing the data load.

According to Purdue University, sensors on spiders' legs are able to switch between perception and stimulus response, or between mechanoreceptors and mechanostimulatory receptors. Andres Arrieta, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University, said: "In nature, there is no difference between hardware and software, they are interconnected. The sensors interpret, collect and filter the data." Researchers are designing spider-inspired sensors to process data in the same way.

When the force reaches a predetermined threshold, the sensor changes shape. The shape change brings the conducting particles closer together so that electricity can pass through the sensor and transmit a signal that informs the automated system how it should respond. In this process, the sensor can not only sense and filter at a faster speed, but also calculate without a power supply. If the team successfully develops and deploys this sensor, it could help self-driving drones navigate dangerous environments and help self-driving cars avoid hazards on the road.

(Credit: Geste Motors)