Next-generation drones could be powered by artificial intelligence software inspired by how bees adapt to and navigate their surroundings,

That’s because scientists from Sheffield University have demonstrated how they are reverse engineering bee brains to create a drone prototype that’s influenced by the flying insects’ ability to navigate accurately over several kilometres and learn environmental features on the fly to then find their way back to their hive.

Professor James Marshall from Sheffield University presented his team’s work at the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in Seattle, detailing how they aim to create small drones that can effectively navigate their surroundings as bees do.

“Bees are really consummate visual navigators,” said Marshall, according to the Financial Times. “They can navigate a complex 3D environment with minimal learning very robustly, using only a million neurons in a cubic millimetre of brain.”

“For us they're at a sweet spot for brain size and intelligence,” added Marshall. Despite their tiny size, bee brains can multitask and they optimise the distances the bee flys from its nest to forage for nectar, meaning the brain learns and adapts to new scenarios very fast.

Currently, AI systems used for image processing can’t compute what they see any anywhere near as quickly as some of the smallest natural brains.

To try and replicate how bees navigate, the researchers have split the project, into two experiments.