Event-based visual guidance inspired by honeybees in a 3D tapered tunnel

In view of neuro-ethological findings on honeybees and our previously developed vision-based autopilot, in-silico experiments were performed in which a “simulated bee” was make to travel along a doubly tapering tunnel including for the first time event-based controllers. The “simulated bee” was equipped with: a minimalistic compound eye comprising 10 local motion sensors measuring the optic flow magnitude; two optic flow regulators updating the control signals whenever specific optic flow criteria changed; and three event-based controllers taking into account the error signals, each one in charge of its own translational dynamics. A MORSE/Blender based simulator-engine delivered what each of 20 “simulated photoreceptors” saw in the tunnel lined with high resolution natural 2D images. The “simulated bee” managed to travel safely along the doubly tapering tunnel without requiring any speed or distance measurements, using only a Gibsonian point of view, by: concomitantly adjusting the side thrust, vertical lift and forward thrust whenever a change was detected on the optic flow-based signal errors; avoiding collisions with the surface of the doubly tapering tunnel and decreasing or increasing its speed, depending on the clutter rate perceived by motion sensors.