Researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Informatics and collaborators built an insect-inspired robot that can keep tracking an odor source even when one of its two odor sensors fails, by copying the adaptive behavior of silkmoths, which can still navigate with only one antenna. They tested the approach indoors and outdoors, and the robot reportedly maintained strong odor-localization performance despite sensor impairment, which is why the team highlights possible use in disaster response, hazardous-material detection, and environmental monitoring.
Insect-inspired odor-tracking robot built for resilience
