Bees, each weighing less than a gramme, perform navigational feats that rival some of the most advanced technologies developed by humans. Every time a bee leaves its hive in search of nectar, it relies on an internal guidance system that allows it to travel long distances and return home with extraordinary precision.
By analysing patterns of polarised light in the sky and combining this information with its own flight speed, the insect continuously calculates its position, without the help of satellites, digital maps, or wireless signals. “A bee finds its way back without a smartphone or satellite navigation.
They look at the polarization of the sky and their own speed. Based on that, they don’t get lost,” said Anders Mikkelsen of Lund University. Currently, Mikkelsen and his colleagues are working to translate that biological brilliance into silicon. He coordinates InsectNeuroNano, an EUfunded collaboration involving universities and laboratories in five European countries.
The team’s goal is to replicate the bee’s internal navigation system on a highly specialised computer chip — one that can determine its own position while consuming only a fraction of the energy required by today’s electronics. Modern chips can already simulate insect navigation, but they do so inefficiently.
Even lightweight navigation hardware can weigh more than 80 grammes and consume upwards of seven watts of power. A bee, by contrast, weighs under one gramme and powers its brain with less than one hundredth of a watt. The contrast underscores the challenge and the opportunity facing researchers. “Imagine if you could make a chip that efficient.
That’s exactly what we’re trying to achieve,” Mikkelsen said. Unlike conventional processors designed to perform a broad range of tasks from sending emails to running complex software—the insectinspired chip is built for a single purpose: navigation. It receives signals from an attached light sensor, integrates them with speed data, and calculates position.
By focusing on one task, the chip can be dramatically smaller and more energy-efficient than generalpurpose hardware. The project brings together biologists and engineers in an effort to bridge the gap between living systems and electronic design. Elisabetta Chicca, a professor at University of Groningen, specializes in bioinspired circuits and systems.
