A neuromorphic system for detecting an approaching object inspired by insect vision

A neuromorphic vision sensor was designed to detect an approaching object in real time. To respond selectively to looming stimuli, the sensor employed an algorithm inspired by a visual nervous system in the locust, which can avoid a collision robustly by use of visual information. An electronic circuit model was designed to mimick the architecture of the locust nervous system. Computer simulations showed that the model provided similar responses to those of the locust visual system. We implemented the model with a compact hardware system consisting of a silicon retina and FPGA circuits and the system was confirmed to emulate the responses of the locust to looming stimuli in real time