Scientists at the Universities of Sheffield and Sussex are
embarking on an ambitious project to produce the first accurate computer models
of a honey bee brain in a bid to advance our understanding of Artificial
Intelligence (AI), and how animals think.
The team will build models of the systems in the brain that
govern a honey bee's vision and sense of smell. Using this information, the
researchers aim to create the first flying robot able to sense and act as
autonomously as a bee, rather than just carry out a pre-programmed set of
instructions.
If successful, this project will meet one of the major
challenges of modern science: building a robot brain that can perform complex
tasks as well as the brain of an animal. Tasks the robot will be expected to
perform, for example, will include finding the source of particular odours or
gases in the same way that a bee can identify particular flowers.