Tianjin University develops bionic compound eyes to create 3D positioning system for autonomous vehicles
According to foreign media reports, recently, scientists have invented a bionic compound eye, which can help scientists understand how insects use their own compound eyes to quickly sense objects and their trajectories. In addition, this compound eye can also work with cameras to create 3D positioning systems for robots, autonomous vehicles, and drones. Researchers at Tianjin University in China said they developed a bionic compound eye, which not only looks like an insect's eye, but also works like an insect's eye. Compound eyes consist of hundreds to thousands of identical small eyes, and each small eye is an independent photosensitive unit. A member of the research team said: "The visual system that imitates insects lets us know that, unlike the human visual system that uses precise images to detect the trajectory of objects, insects will detect the trajectory of objects based on the intensity of the light emitted by the object. Motion detection requires less information and allows insects to respond quickly to threats. " Mimicking insect eyes The researchers used a single-point diamond turning method to create 169 microlenses on the surface of the compound eye. Each microlens has a radius of about 1 mm, creating a component with a total radius of about 20 mm, which can detect a 90-degree field of view. object. The field of view of adjacent microlenses will overlap, just like the small eyes of insects. One of the challenges in manufacturing artificial compound eyes is that the image detector is flat, and the surface of the compound eye is curved. Therefore, the researchers placed a light guide between the curved lens and the image detector to overcome this challenge, while also allowing the components to receive light from different angles uniformly. The researchers explained: "The bionic compound eyes we manufacture have the same light-receiving ability and are more similar to biological compound eyes. Compared with previous attempts to copy compound eyes, they can more closely mimic biological mechanisms." In order to use the artificial compound eye to measure the 3D trajectory of the object, the researchers added a grid to each eyelet to help locate it, and then placed the LED light source at a known distance and direction of the compound eye, and used an algorithm to determine the LED light source. The position and intensity of the emitted light calculate the 3D position of the LED. The researchers found that the compound eye system can quickly provide the 3D position of the object. However, when the light source is far away, the positioning accuracy will be reduced, which may also explain why most insects are myopic. How insects see the world The researchers said: "This design allows us to prove that compound eyes can identify the position of an object based on its brightness rather than a complex image processing process. This highly sensitive mechanism works perfectly with insect brain processing capabilities to help them Avoid predators. " According to the researchers, this new type of bionic compound eye can detect the 3D position of an object, which is very useful for small robots, because small robots need to use a very light-weight system to achieve rapid detection, and also study the vision of insects for biologists. The system provides a new method. The researchers also plan to embed the positioning algorithm into platforms such as integrated circuits to enable the system to be integrated into other devices. To reduce unit costs, researchers are also developing methods for mass production of such compound ophthalmic lenses. (Author: Yuqiu Yun) Diamond Electroplated Grinding Wheel DIY,special Guanghan Longrun Science and Trade Technology Trade Co., Ltd. , https://www.kairungongju.com