LOCUSTS could hold the key to fewer accidents on the roads, a Newcastle University scientist claims.

Dr Claire Rind, reader in Invertebrate Neurobiology, has spent years studying why the insects do not crash in mid-air.

Now she and a team of scientists from Lincoln University have developed a robotic model based on the locust’s biological make-up to create anti-collision sensors on vehicles.

“Developing robot neural network programmes, based on the locust brain, has allowed us to create a programme allowing a mobile robot to detect approaching objects and avoid them.

“It’s not the conventional approach, instead it is modelled on the locust’s eyes and neurones as the basis of a collision avoidance system. Taking this work forward, we want to apply it to collision avoidance systems in vehicles which is a major challenge for the automotive industry.”

Dr Rind has been using locusts as the basis of her work for more than 30 years and said the insects are often used in neuro-biological research because of their behaviour.

Her work is based on locust’s vision and the discovery that the insects have two neurons in their nervous system which tells them when a predator is approaching at speed.

They also have incredibly fast data processing through electrical and chemical signals which enables them to perform last-second ducking and diving manoeuvre.

Elements of this biological system could be helpful to the car industry when re-created through Dr Rind’s highly complex computerised system and robotic model.

“We have a robot and it’s got a hemispherical lens in its eye which gives it a better field of view and the ultimate end is for use in vehicles.

“While some collision-avoidance features are pricey options on luxury cars, their performance is not always as good as it could be. And they come at a high cost.

“This research offers us important insights into how we can develop a system for the car which could improve performance to such a level that we could take out the element of human error,” she added.

The technology could also eventually be used in surveillance and video games.

The research by Dr Rind and her colleague, Professor Shigang Yue from Lincoln University, will be published in the International Journal of Advanced Mechatronic Systems this week.

“There are hundreds of locusts in the laboratory in Newcastle,” said Dr Rind. “We only use a couple a week and a lot of our experiments are ones where they can go back into their colony.

“And they’re built like little tanks too, so it’s easy to work with them.”

It is modelled on the locust’s eyes and neurones as the basis of a collision avoidance system