Design and Control of an Autonomous Bat-like Perching UAV

Perching allows small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles(UAVs)to maintain their altitude while significantly extending their flight duration and reducing noise.However,current research on flying habitats is poorly adapted to unstructured environments,and lacks autonomous capabilities,requiring ideal experimental environments and remote control by personnel.To solve these problems,in this paper,we propose a bat-like UAV perching mechanism by investigating the bat upside-down perch-ing method,which realizes double self-locking in the perching state using the ratchet and four-link dead point mechanisms.Based on this perching mechanism,this study proposes a control strategy for UAVs to track targets and accomplish flight perching autonomously by combining a binocular camera,single-point LiDAR,and pressure sensors.Autonomous perch-ing experiments were conducted for crossbar-type objects outdoors.The experimental results show that a multirotor UAV equipped with the perching mechanism and sensors can reliably achieve autonomous flight perching and re-flying off the target outdoors.The power consumption is reduced to 2.9％of the hovering state when perched on the target object.     

Fine-scale flight strategies of gulls in urban airflows indicate risk and reward in city living

Birds modulate their flight paths in relation to regional and global airflows in order to reduce their travel costs. Birds should also respond to fine-scale airflows, although the incidence and value of this remains largely unknown. We resolved the three-dimensional trajectories of gulls flying along a built-up coastline, and used computational fluid dynamic models to examine how gulls reacted to airflows around buildings. Birds systematically altered their flight trajectories with wind conditions to exploit updraughts over features as small as a row of low-rise buildings. This provides the first evidence that human activities can change patterns of space-use in flying birds by altering the profitability of the airscape. At finer scales still, gulls varied their position to select a narrow range of updraught values, rather than exploiting the strongest updraughts available, and their precise positions were consistent with a strategy to increase their velocity control in gusty conditions. Ultimately, strategies such as these could help unmanned aerial vehicles negotiate complex airflows. Overall, airflows around fine-scale features have profound implications for flight control and energy use, and consideration of this could lead to a paradigm-shift in the way ecologists view the urban environment.This article is part of the themed issue ‘Moving in a moving medium: new perspectives on flight’.     

Dynamic concentration challenges for biosensor characterization

A method and apparatus are described for characterization of the steady state and dynamic response of biosensors. The apparatus produces a steady stream of homogeneously mixed analyte whose concentration can be fixed at discrete values or varied continously. The device is ideally suited for continously operated biosensors, but is also effective for biosensors that operate in discrete sampling modes. The system permits simultaneous testing of several sensors and determination of the accuracy, precision and repeatability of sensor response. The characteristics of this testing apparatus were validated with ferrocyanide and glucose as indicators. As an example of use of the apparatus, concentration ramps were created and used to complement conventional step changes for characterizing an implantable glucose sensor. The ramp rate can be adjusted easily by scaling the apparatus to simulate the rate of concentration change anticipated during actual monitoring situations.     

A behavioural test of the sensitivity of a nocturnal mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, to dim white, red and infra-red light

Abstract. A behavioural test was used to determine the light sensitivity of the nocturnal mosquito Anopheles gambiae Giles s.s. to low intensities of 'white' light (tungsten filament), 'red' light (white light filtered by a darkroom safelight filter) and 'infra-red' light) of two types (white light filtered by a λ>700 nm filter, and light-emitting diodes with λ>900 nm). Mosquitoes were placed in a 20 cm diameter flight-tunnel and their 'optomotor' response to a pattern of stripes moving across their visual field (at 14.5 cm s^-1) was recorded with infra-red-sensitive video. In free-flight, with ample light, the mosquitoes controlled their flight speed and direction in relation to the stripe movement, so that the stripes always appeared to move across their visual field from front to back. They did this by flying either with the moving stripes fast enough to overtake them (19.5 ± 0.7 cm s^-1), or against them more slowly (10.3 ± 0.7 cm s^-1)- The net ground speed of the mosquitoes was thus c. 4–5 cm s^-1. This response was significant down to 10^-5 W m^-2 in 'white' light, and 10^-3 W m^-2 in 'red' light. At light intensities below threshold and in infra-red light, however, they appeared to fly at random with respect to the stripe movement. The assumption commonly made, that mosquitoes do not 'see' in red light, may thus have to be revised.     

Flight responses by a migratory soaring raptor to changing meteorological conditions

Soaring birds that undertake long-distance migration should develop strategies to minimize the energetic costs of endurance flight. This is relevant because condition upon completion of migration has direct consequences for fecundity, fitness and thus, demography. Therefore, strong evolutionary pressures are expected for energy minimization tactics linked to weather and topography. Importantly, the minute-by-minute mechanisms birds use to subsidize migration in variable weather are largely unknown, in large part because of the technological limitations in studying detailed long-distance bird flight. Here, we show golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) migratory response to changing meteorological conditions as monitored by high-resolution telemetry. In contrast to expectations, responses to meteorological variability were stereotyped across the 10 individuals studied. Eagles reacted to increased wind speed by using more orographic lift and less thermal lift. Concomitantly, as use of thermals decreased, variation in flight speed and altitude also decreased. These results demonstrate how soaring migrant birds can minimize energetic expenditures, they show the context for avian decisions and choices of specific instantaneous flight mechanisms and they have important implications for design of bird-friendly wind energy.     

Exposure to heat shock affects thermosensitivity of the locust flight system

The natural habitat of the migratory locust, Locusta migratoria, is likely to result in locusts being heat stressed during their normal adult life. It is known that locusts exhibit a heat-shock response: exposure to 45°C for 3 h induces thermotolerance and the expression of heat-shock proteins. We investigated the effects of exposure to heat-shock conditions on the thermosensitivity of flight rhythm generation in tethered, intact animals and in deafferented preparations. Heat shock had no effect on wingbeat frequency measured at the start of flight sequences, nor did it affect the postimaginal maturation of this parameter. During sustained flight, heat shock slowed the characteristic asymptotic reduction of wingbeat frequency. Wingbeat frequency of heat-shocked animals was less sensitive to temperature in the range 24° to 47°C than that of control animals, and the upper temperature limit, above which flight rhythms could not be produced, was 6° to 7°C higher in heat-shocked animals. These results were mirrored in the response of deafferented preparations, indicating that modifications in the properties of the flight neuromuscular system were involved in mediating the response of the intact animal. We propose that exposure to heat shock had the adaptive consequences of reducing thermosensitivity of the neural circuits in the flight system and allowing them to operate at higher temperatures. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The optomotor yaw response of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria

Abstract The optomotor yaw response of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria (Forsk.), was investigated under open- and closed-loop conditions. When flying tethered in the centre of a vertically striped hollow sphere, the polarity of response of the locust was always the same as the stimulus. The response, therefore, appears suitable to stabilize body posture against passive rotations around the yaw-axis in free flight. Responses were induced by contrast frequencies up to 150 Hz with a maximum of amplitude at about 20 Hz. The characteristic curve, measured between 0.3 and 160 Hz, is widened up towards higher frequencies as compared with those of bees and flies.
Variability was the most striking feature in the locust's yaw response. The amplitude of modulation not only varied greatly between individuals but also changed with the same visual stimulus in the course of an experiment. We therefore suppose that the locust's turning behaviour is subject to gain control mechanisms and that spontaneous gain modulations are responsible for the observed variability in the stimulus-response conversion.     

皇甫川流域不同尺度景观分异下的土壤性状

皇甫川流域地处我国北方农牧交错带中段,是该地区正在进行的国家重点基础规划(“973”)项目设置的范式点之一。按照区域-小流域-中小地形这样的景观分类的等级体系,通过代表小流域的样带设置、实地调查和取样分析等,对该地区区域尺度、流域尺度和中小地形尺度景观分异下的土壤性状进行了分析。在此基础上,对研究区优化生态-生产范式的空间配置问题进行了探讨。结果表明:(1)总体上该研究区土壤养分含量低、发育程度差。(2)不同地质地貌类型区的土壤特性存在差异,黄土丘陵沟壑区的小流域比沙化黄土丘陵区和砒砂岩裸露丘陵沟壑区的小流域的土壤养分和质地好,相对更适于发展耕地。(3)中小地形尺度下,坡向、坡度和坡位及土地利用与土壤性状的关系为:1阴坡和阳坡的土壤有机质含量存在差异显著,且土壤养分还随着坡的向阳程度的减弱而增加。川地的土壤养分也较高,但土壤偏砂性。2坡度与土壤粒径存在显著相关,坡度不同侵蚀强度也不同。15°是侵蚀加剧的临界值,把它作为当地的退耕坡度标准是合理的。3土壤表层养分总体表现为随坡位的下降而减少的趋势。4综合考虑中小地形条件,景观立地类型可以划分为川台地养分富集区,坡中下部养分严重流失区(坡度>15°)和坡梁缓坡地养分涵养区(坡度<15°)。5中小地形尺度下,样带剖面上土地利用变化对土壤性状的影响较大:乔木林土壤养分积累高、团粒结构好,灌木林由于放牧和沙化的影响,土壤养分最低,砂粒含量最高而粘粒含量最低。撂荒地的土壤养分少而农田和果园的土壤养分较高。荒草地的土壤养分条件较差。但就耕地与非耕地而言,土壤养分和质地并无显著差异。说明耕地熟化作用很弱,广种薄收、靠天吃饭现象十分普遍;(4)不同尺度景观分异下的土壤性状研究是优化生态-生产范式的构建的重要理论基础。     

黑腹壮猎蝽与其猎物暗翅无刺蜂的声音模拟现象

拟态是自然界中十分常见的一种生态适应现象,是了解自然选择理论最为典型的一类研究案例。目前被报道的拟态案例大多集中在视觉模拟上,而在声音模态方面的报道相对较少。本研究报道了基于捕食关系下暗翅无刺蜂Tetragonilla collina和黑腹壮猎蝽Biasticus ventralis间的声音模拟案例。分别采集了暗翅无刺蜂蜂巢门口的归巢蜂、出巢蜂以及黑腹壮猎蝽飞行时的音频,并对其音频进行提取和分析。随后以基频、第1谐波、第2谐波、第1频率四分位数、第2频率四分位数、第3频率四分位数、频谱标准差等7个声音频率参数来进行多元统计分析,比较它们之间的相似性高低。结果表明,基于7个声音频率参数的偏最小二乘法判别分析无法有效的将黑腹壮猎蝽和暗翅无刺蜂的归巢蜂、出巢蜂发出的声音区分开来。经似然比卡方检验,发现其中黑腹壮猎蝽与暗翅无刺蜂的归巢蜂的7个声音频率参数均无显著性差异（P>0.05）。对比分析发现,在两个与暗翅无刺蜂关联的拟态系统中,暗翅无刺蜂归巢蜂与黑腹壮猎蝽的模拟程度更高。该拟态系统的发现为声音模态方面提供了新的研究案例,进而为从多模态角度了解拟态起源和演化的过程提供了一定的参考依据。     

Predation Hot Spots: Large Scale Impact of Local Aggregations

Abstract   Broad scale survey distributions of fish are dominated by some extremely high catches. With a novel survey design we resolved the small-scale fish distribution in the spatio-temporal vicinity of these extreme hauls and showed that in the North Sea they generally do not occur in isolation. An additional case study where stomach contents of fish predators were analyzed revealed that they actually indicate aggregations of piscivorous fish predators on prey aggregations. We show that the predation impact can reach immense dimensions, an aggregation of more than 50 million juvenile cod (Gadus morhua) was entirely wiped out in 5 days by predatory whiting (Merlangius merlangus), aggregating on these juveniles in an area of approximately 18 km². The consumption of only 32 hot spots of similar magnitude as observed in our study adds up to the average size of an incoming North Sea cod year class. These findings support the hypothesis of predation as the major source of mortality in young-of-the-year demersal fish species and questions the generality of fish aggregation as an effective anti-predator strategy. This study highlights the system-wide structuring force of small-scale predation hot spots and further points to the importance of a more realistic implementation of local high-intensity predation events in food web models. Electronic supplementary material:   The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

弱背景噪声对大鼠听皮层神经元频率调谐的影响

在自然环境中,人和动物常在一定的背景噪声下感知信号声刺激,然而,关于低强度的弱背景噪声如何影响听皮层神经元对声刺激频率的编码尚不清楚.本研究以大鼠听皮层神经元的频率反应域为研究对象,测定了阈下背景噪声对79个神经元频率反应域的影响.结果表明,弱背景噪声对大鼠初级听皮层神经元的听反应既有抑制性影响、又有易化性影响.一般来说,抑制性影响使神经元的频率调谐范围和最佳频率反应域缩小,易化性影响使神经元的频率调谐范围和最佳频率反应域增大.对于少数神经元,弱背景噪声并未显著改变其频率调谐范围,但却改变了其最佳频率反应域范围.弱背景噪声对63.64%神经元的特征频率和55.84%神经元的最低阈值无显著影响.神经元频率调谐曲线的尖部比中部更容易受到弱背景噪声的影响.该研究结果有助于我们进一步理解复杂声环境下大脑听皮层对听觉信息的编码机制.     

Instrumental measurement of the gypsy moth pre-flight behavioural response to pheromone

ABSTRACT. Vibrations of the thorax and electrical activity (EMG) of gypsy moth flight muscles were recorded during wing fanning following pheromone stimulation. The percentage of positive responses and durations of bursts of flight muscle activity increased with the logarithm of pheromone dose, whereas latency decreased. The results correlated well with wing fanning responses of freely moving gypsy moths exposed to nearly identical stimulus conditions. Typical dose-response curves in the range of 0.04-400ng disparlure were obtained in both types of experiments. These methods provide an electrical analogue of wing fanning behaviour.