New aircraft landing system inspired by bees

Australian researchers have taken inspiration from bees to develop an autonomous aircraft landing system which uses visual cues from cameras to control landings.
The system is fully independent of outside technology and can improve passenger safety by deterring blocking or hacking, researchers said.
University of Queensland researchers have successfully trialled the autonomous system which differs from other autonomous techniques as it is independent of outside technology such as laser-range sensors, radio beacons or Global Positioning System (GPS) signals.
"It is totally independent of GPS signals, which can be blocked or hacked, and is a start for aircraft to independently understand their surroundings," said project leader Saul Thurrowgood.

Thurrowgood said he took cues from bee biology to create the system.
"Bees use optic flow for their descent - using the rate of motion beneath them to guide their landing - and recent testing also shows that they may also use stereo vision for their touchdown, which is using two eyes to judge distance," Thurrowgood said.

"We have incorporated both of these techniques in our automatic landing system, but modified them for use in a fixed-wing aircraft," he said.
Thurrowgood said the system used cameras mounted to the front of an aircraft with a two-metre wingspan.
"The plane used the visual system to guide itself, sense its altitude, control its throttle and shut itself off when it landed," he said.

"All commercial aircraft need to have backup systems, and this research provides the option of having different types of sensing. If one isn't working then the pilot has something else to fall back on," he said.
The research is published in the Journal of Field Robotics.