一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，蜜蜂通過讓正在接近的著陸地點在它們的視野中擴大的速率保持恒定從而減速并在表面上安全著陸,。
安全著陸可以說是飛行最具挑戰(zhàn)的一個方面,，它需要在觸地的時候減速到接近0速度,，而飛機是由經(jīng)過訓練的飛行員以及精密儀器引導的，讓動物實現(xiàn)這種技藝的機制仍然不清楚,。
為了分析蜜蜂用于在垂直表面降落的線索,，Emily Baird及其同事設計了一些實驗,，使用旋轉(zhuǎn)的螺旋圖案去模擬著陸地點的運動模式，結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)這些蜜蜂通過接近著陸表面的時候讓著陸表面擴大的表觀速率保持恒定,，從而平滑地降低了速度,。
這組作者開發(fā)了一個復制了這種技術(shù)的數(shù)學模型，然后證明了這種技術(shù)可以有效引導在任何方向上在表面上平滑著落,。這組作者報告說,，這種著陸導航的生物策略——這種機制很可能被其他飛行動物利用——并不需要了解到表面的距離或者飛行速度。這組作者說,，這種方法的簡單性可能提供了一個理想的解決方案，可以由飛行機器人的自動導航系統(tǒng)實施,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦的英文摘要
Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences of the United States of America doi: 10.1073/pnas.1314311110
A universal strategy for visually guided landing
Emily Bairda,，1， Norbert Boeddekerb,， Michael R. Ibbotsonc,，d， and Mandyam V. Srinivasane,，f
Landing is a challenging aspect of flight because,， to land safely， speed must be decreased to a value close to zero at touchdown. The mechanisms by which animals achieve this remain unclear. When landing on horizontal surfaces,， honey bees control their speed by holding constant the rate of front-to-back image motion (optic flow) generated by the surface as they reduce altitude. As inclination increases,， however， this simple pattern of optic flow becomes increasingly complex. How do honey bees control speed when landing on surfaces that have different orientations,？ To answer this,， we analyze the trajectories of honey bees landing on a vertical surface that produces various patterns of motion. We find that landing honey bees control their speed by holding the rate of expansion of the image constant. We then test and confirm this hypothesis rigorously by analyzing landings when the apparent rate of expansion generated by the surface is manipulated artificially. This strategy ensures that speed is reduced， gradually and automatically,， as the surface is approached. We then develop a mathematical model of this strategy and show that it can effectively be used to guide smooth landings on surfaces of any orientation,， including horizontal surfaces. This biological strategy for guiding landings does not require knowledge about either the distance to the surface or the speed at which it is approached. The simplicity and generality of this landing strategy suggests that it is likely to be exploited by other flying animals and makes it ideal for implementation in the guidance systems of flying robots.
