Scientists Want To Adapt A Dragonfly's Ability To Track Down Prey To A Missile System

C4ISRNet: Can a dragonfly teach a missile how to hunt?

WASHINGTON — A computational neuroscientist is studying whether a dragonfly’s excellent hunting skills can be replicated in a missile’s ability to maneuver and destroy targets midair with better precision.

Dragonflies are vicious little creatures with a hit-to-kill track record of 95 percent, meaning only 5 percent of its prey escapes.

Sandia National Laboratories’ Frances Chance is building algorithms that simulate how a dragonfly processes information when intercepting prey, and she’s testing them in a virtual environment. So far, the results are promising.

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Update: Could a Dragonfly’s Killer Instinct Be Adapted for Military Missiles? (Popular Mechanics)

WNU Editor: I love seeing these guys at work during summer. When they show up it always tells me that the mosquitoes and flies that dominate the early part of summer will soon be gone.