The role of insect-brain-inspired technology in drone warfare.

Abstract

For many years, the potential for insect-like robots to be deployed in a military context has been explored in fiction, but also supported by research funding from defence agencies around the world. Recent conflicts have seen a rapid increase in the deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones); but is this at all related to new insights in insect science? In fact, the key advances behind this expansion are largely the result of hardware improvements, communication infrastructure and mainstream engineering solutions, combining to substantially lower the cost and increase the reliability of commercial drones. It is not obvious that any recent developments facilitating the deployment of drones for military operations are derived, even distantly, from insect brain research. However, current pressures, particularly to overcome the main countermeasures used against drones, are fueling a drive for enhanced autonomy, ideally with minimal increase in cost or complexity. This puts the spotlight on several specific insect-brain-inspired approaches that are already being explored for efficient control and navigation of UAVs. The current arms-race in development of drones and countermeasures seems likely to lead to rapid advances that, as for other military technologies, might ultimately offer substantial benefits for civilian applications, but could also have undesirable side-effects.