The robot car, ‘BR23C’ from Japan was co-developed by Nissan and the Tokyo University’s Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology. The robot uses a crash prevention technology mimicking bees to avoid other automobiles and obstacles. Based on research, bees make their own space and avoid obstacles by sensing environment around them while they are flying.
BR23C uses a Laser Range Finder (LRF) which works like bee’s compound eyes. The sensor recognizes obstacles within 180 degree radius in front of the robot, and the robot instantly processes the collision avoid action. BR23C’s collision avoid action is decided with deceleration or changing direction. Since the system uses instant reflex action, it does not require CPU or memory to process a large amount of collective data.