Could a Dragonfly’s Killer Instinct Be Adapted for Military Missiles?
The Dragonfly, one of the most adept predators on the planet, could lend its hunting skills to guided missiles.
By Kyle Mizokami
Aug 6, 2019
The humble dragonfly, long a symbol of lazy summer days, has a secret: it’s actually one of the most skilled predators on the planet. Harmless to humans, dragonflies are absolutely lethal to other insects, missing only one prey in twenty. Scientists at Sandia National Laboratory want to learn what makes the flying insect such a talented killer in the hopes of someday improving missile guidance systems.
Dragonflies are more than 300 million years old, and their ancestors were some of the first insects to develop wings. That’s apparently been plenty of time to hone their hunting skills to a fine edge.
Now, C4ISRNet writes, government researchers are trying to unlock the insect’s ancient secrets. Researchers believe that the dragonfly, which has a reaction time of just 50 milliseconds, actually hunts by instinct instead of “thinking†about how to respond to prey. If hunting is indeed hardwired to the flying bug, it could be possible to replicate how it hunts with electronics and software—and place it all in the brain of a missile.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/a28611135/missiles-dragonfly/
