Purdue researchers have built sensors inspired by spiders to help improve the capabilities of autonomous vehicles and drones. Spiders have nerve endings linked to neurons known as 'mechanosensors' which filter out the information it requires according to a threshold, such as changes in pressure or temperature. For example, when a spider's web vibrates at a frequency associated with prey or a mate, the mechanosensors detect it, generating a reflex in the spider that then reacts very quickly. The mechanosensors wouldn't detect a lower frequency, such as that of dust on the web, because it's unimportant to the spider's survival. Engineered mechanosensors, according to the team, could be customised to detect predetermined forces in a similar way. These would then be associated with a certain object that an autonomous machine needs to avoid, for example. The sensors would also compute without the need for a power supply.
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