Flow Visualization for Mimicking Low Reynolds Number Insect Flight
Flying insects are often required to navigate through cluttered environments (such as the dense foliage of trees) where the potential for collisions with obstacles is high. In this type of environment, they must control their flight speed at a point that allows their sensory systems to detect and avoid obstacles. Insects such as honeybees and drosophila, which are active at high light intensities, rely on visual information to regulate their flight speed in cluttered environments, and to adjust their speed prior to landing. When the distance to nearby surfaces suddenly decreases, these insects perform compensatory decreases in flight speed. Although visual information is useful for flight speed control and landing at high light intensities, can insects rely on visual cues to regulate flight at lower light intensities, when the latency of the visual system is increased? Do insects that fly at low light levels still rely primarily on visual input to regulate flight and landing, or do they also use mechanosensory cues? How does an insect process two or more sensory inputs with different latencies during flight? How do these latencies influence the time it takes for an insect to respond to each stimulus? The answers to these questions are crucial towards a better understanding of the role of sensorimotor mechanisms in insect flight control.
Collaborators: Prof. Doyoung Byun @ Konkuk University
