Study of dragonfly gives IED project wings

The neurology of dragonflies has inspired a new approach to identifying IEDs.

The neurology of dragonflies has inspired a new approach to identifying IEDs.

From the battlefronts of Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan to the streets of Sydney, London and Paris, the preferred tool of terror for insurgency groups is the improvised explosive device.

The term entered the lexicon after the Gulf War began in 2003 and covers a range of devices ranging from homemade pipe bombs to a highly sophisticated equipment that can rip through armoured vehicles.

The rapidly changing nature of IEDs, which includes chemical, biological and nuclear threats, means the threat is hard to identify and deactivate using traditional approaches.

“We were coming out of a period of operations in the Middle East where IEDs had resulted in the deaths of Australian soldiers,” says Mark Petrusma, research leader of energetic systems and effects, with Defence Science and Technology Group (DST). “It was critical for us to solve it as a problem.”

Indeed, the growing global threat posed to both military operations and civilians by IEDs led the DST to name it as its first Grand Challenge as part of the $730 million Next Generation Technologies Fund.

A grand challenge is considered to be a highly complex and seemingly intractable problem requiring radical new ideas, technologies and approaches if there is any chance of finding a solution.

This type of approach was pioneered by US president John F Kennedy in 1961 when he set the challenge of landing a man on the moon and returning safely to Earth within a decade. Eight years later, Neil Armstrong took one small step for man but one giant step for mankind.

The simple yet genius idea behind the Grand Challenges program was that, for the first time, DST would seek to work with researchers and experts from outside the defence portfolio, forging collaborations with universities, the CSIRO and large and small technology and defence companies to create a rich mix of capabilities and know-how.

When DST put its call out for research proposals, 200 came flooding in. Eventually, 14 were given the tick of approval, involving 22 organisations.

One proposal from the University of South Australia is seeking to understand how insects such as dragonflies, despite tiny brains, can process vast amounts of data to fly in complex patterns and predict movement of prey.

The lead researcher, UniSA professor Anthony Finn, was inspired by the fact dragonflies successfully catch up to 95 per cent of their prey while flying at speeds of up to 60 km an hour.

Working in conjunction with Adelaide-based start-up Midspar and a DST researcher, the team has been able to develop bio-inspired algorithms based on the physiology and neurology of the dragonfly.

The technology developed from that initial observation of a dragonfly’s profound flight abilities will enhance the range at which electro-optic, infra-red and acoustic sensors are able to detect IEDs in electrically powered drones. According to Professor Finn, researchers have been able to “double the detection range while massively reducing false alarm rates in complex cluttered environments”.

Another Grand Challenge project is developing new technology that will provide greater security from the risk of suicide bombers in crowded areas such as airports, football stadiums and military checkpoints.

DST and Teledyne Defence Australia are working on a project to develop deep learning neural networks — or a set of algorithms which are loosely modelled on the human brain — that can automatically identify and classify targets of interest, such as those carrying IEDs and weapons, in real time without disrupting the flow of traffic.

Mr Petrusma says the aim is to solve seemingly irresolvable problems and, along the way, produce new technologies that can be commercialised and acquired by the Defence Force. But built into the program, he says, is an acceptance that failure is sometimes implicit to the act of innovation.

“One of the most exciting things about the Grand Challenge program is that it has a really direct impact on our defence and national security programs. We are already seeing some new technologies with the ability to have a strong impact in the hands of our war fighters and national security agencies,” he says.

Ultimately, Grand Challenges is a bold and innovative approach to research from which the country will long benefit. Along the way, the flight of the dragonfly is no longer a secret.