While surfing the net today, & as usual, serendipity takes its course, I stray into 'The Medici Effect' weblog of researcher Frans Johansson to read his fascinating blog post about Swedish car maker Volvo's latest R & D initiative:Volvo is developing an anti-collision system for their automobiles, drawing on lessons from the African grasshopper’s ability to avoid collision when it flies in swarms.
Interestingly, scientists have discovered that the African locust has an unique internal radar system composed of a giant movement detector behind the eyes.
The visual input is instantly transmitted to the insect’s wing nerve cells – seemingly bypassing the brain. The detector releases bursts of energy when the locust is on a collision course, which allows it to move out of the way quickly.
According to Jonas Ekmark, preventive safety leader at Volvo Safety Division, it is amazing that these grasshoppers can fly around in a chaotic swarm, looking for food, yet never once collide with each other.
He feels that the discovery about the locust’s radar system has the potential of yielding information that could be used to develop new technology to cut down on road traffic accidents.
Readers can go to this link to read the entire blog post.
[Readers, who haven't read the book, 'The Medici Effect', can also proceed to this link to download the 224-page ebook bearing the same title by Frans Johansson.]
Wow! Mother Nature is once again a great teacher!
[Note: The photo of the African locust in this blog post has come from Animal Planet News.]
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