Flying animals integrate large amounts of sensory information in order to effectively navigate in complex spatial and aerodynamic environments with the goal of finding mates, food sources and avoiding predators. How such sensory information is combined, and how it affects neural decision making, is a key issue underlying maneuvering, object detection, tracking and navigation. The design principles underlying these abilities provide direct inspiration for the development of autonomous devices capable of similar types of complex behaviors.
NIFTI brings together biologists, neuroscientists, engineers, and mathematicians to uncover fundamental principles underlying complex movement control in autonomous, lightweight aerial devices capable of precise navigation and guidance. NIFTI’s mission is to collectively “reverse engineer” the processes by which natural systems accomplish challenging flight-related missions.
More information about NIFTI’s research foci can be found here.