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ROBOTICS AND MACHINE PERCEPTION 12.2 SEPTEMBER 2003 1SPIE International Technical Group Newsletter ROBOTICS AND MACHINE PERCEPTION NEWSLETTER NOW AVAILABLE ON-LINE Technical Group members are being offered the option of receiving the Robotics and Machine Perception Newsletter electronically. An e-mail is being sent to all group members with advice of the web location for this issue, and asking members to choose between the electronic and printed version for future issues. If you are a member and have not yet received this message, then SPIE does not have your correct e-mail address. To receive future issues electroni- cally, please send your e-mail address to: spie-membership@ with the word Robotics in the sub- ject line of the message and the words electronic version in the body of the message. If you prefer to receive the newsletter in the printed format, but want to send your correct e-mail address for our database, include the words print version preferred in the body of your message. Calendar—See page 11 Technical Group Registration Form—See page 10 Continues on page 2. SEPTEMBER 2003 VOL. 12, NO. 2 SPIE International Technical Group Newsletter A robot that flies with a neuromorphic eye Small unmanned air vehicles (UAV) and micro air vehicles (MAV) are being tested for urban surveil- lance. Future missions will require sensors and flight control systems (FCS) dedicated to obstacle avoid- ance and guidance so that the remote operators can concentrate on navigation and observation. Flying insects use the wide field of view (FOV) of their compound eyes to avoid obstacles and follow ter- rain. Insects use the retinal motion of contrasts also known as optic flow (OF): their nervous system fuses visual, inertial, and aerodynamic senses to control flight. Our robotic aircraft demonstrates how insect vision can be applied to UAV flight control sys- tems. 1 It also shows how biologically-inspired sensing can enable a flying test bed (Figures 1 and 2) to follow terrain