Animal Brains are a Treasure Trove of Innovation

A Monash University researcher at the forefront of animal cognition and behavioral studies is shining a light on how the field plays a critical role in driving forward societal innovation.

From dragonflies inspiring flight mechanics to bee vision informing collision avoidance technology, studying animal cognition can do much more than help us understand how a species forages or avoids predators.

Monash University Research Fellow Dr Scarlett Howard has today published new research detailing how animal brains are a treasure trove of innovation.

The head of the University’s Integrative Cognition, Ecology and Bio-inspiration Research Group, Dr Howard’s research focuses on miniature animal brains, like bees, which are commonly used to inform the design of technology through bio-inspired technologies.

Bio-inspired technologies take inspiration from biological structures or processes like animal anatomy to design and develop technology closely resembling how an animal behaves, moves or perceives the world.

Many animals are considered emerging models for bio-inspired technologies and neuromorphic systems based on their vision, movements, behavior and flight strategies,”

Dr Scarlett Howard, Research Fellow, Monash University

“Many of the processes and behaviors bio-inspired technology aims to simulate are ecologically relevant to the animal, such as collision avoidance and optic flow principles in bees, or flight mechanics in dragonflies.”

Dr Howard’s research details the value in studying whether animals can perform challenging cognitive tasks that have little or no relevance to their daily lives, natural environment, or ecology. 

“Discovering how animals behave in these so-called ‘ecologically irrelevant tasks’ can be valuable to a range of scientific and societal advances,” Dr Howard said.

“Knowing how the animal species responds to novel situations will aid in making bio-inspired technology that more closely resembles the animal in its response.

“With anthropogenic threats increasingly endangering species across the globe, learning more about how animals respond to novel situations may shed light on how species can cope with anthropogenic change and thus inform conservation efforts.

“Studying animal intelligence can also deepen our understanding of the evolution of intelligence in human brains, and inspire other societal innovation, such as technologies like artificial intelligence and bio-inspired computational systems.”