Challenges for Biomimetic Night Time Sky Polarization Navigation

摘要

Studies on some species of insects have shown them to use the polarization pattern cast by the moon in the night sky to control heading. Additional heading cues are of value to autonomous systems, since the earth's magnetic field is not uniform, often not available and is substantially modified by local phenomena. In addition to the required low-light sensitivity of a night time polarization compass, additional complexities caused by the relative intensity of terrestrial sources must be overcome. We will show that the end result will tend to be a less reliable compass than the equivalent day time polarization device.