An insect species that evolved 130 million years ago is the inspiration for a new research study to improve navigation systems in drones, robots, and orbiting satellites.                                                                                       

The dung beetle is the first known species to use the Milky Way at night to navigate, focusing on the constellation of stars as a reference point to roll balls of dung in a straight line away from their competitors.

Swedish researchers made this discovery in 2013 and a decade later, Australian engineers are modeling the same technique used by the dung beetle to develop an AI sensor that can accurately measure the orientation of the Milky Way in low light.

University of South Australia remote sensing engineer Professor Javaan Chahl and his team of Ph.D. students have used computer vision to demonstrate that the large stripe of light that forms the Milky Way is not affected by motion blur, unlike individual stars.

"Nocturnal dung beetles move their head and body extensively when rolling balls of manure across a field, needing a fixed orientation point in the night sky to help them steer in a straight line," Chahl says. "Their tiny compound eyes make it difficult to distinguish individual stars, particularly while in motion, whereas the Milky Way is highly visible."