MEMS and High Speed Vision

Insects achieve remarkable flight control, despite limited neural resources and inherently instable conditions. As engineers develop increasingly smaller autonomous flying vehicles, they are faced with similar challenges. In this work, new microtechnologies are developed and applied to reverse-engineer flight control in insect flight. Important questions relating to insect flight control are approached through system identification techniques applied to the fruit fly, Drosophila, where it is analyzed through its input/output characteristics. Special tools were developed to provide precise inputs and measure detailed outputs of such a small organism: A 360° display refreshed 200 times per second, a high-sensitivity micro force sensor and a high speed vision were all designed to measure subtle motor and aerodynamic corrections to flight. The experiments address central questions relating to the underlying neural controller and biomechanics. Overall, this work is a vivid example of the interaction of life sciences and engineering, resulting in an interdisciplinary approach greater than the sum of its parts.