Long-distance Navigation Research Articles

Performance Evaluation of a Bioinspired Geomagnetic Sensor and Its Application for Geomagnetic Navigation in Simulated Environment.

For geomagnetic navigation technology, taking inspiration from nature and leveraging the principle of animals' utilization of the geomagnetic field for long-distance navigation, and employing biomimetic technology to develop higher-precision geomagnetic sensors and more advanced navigation strategies, has emerged as a new trend. Based on the two widely acknowledged biological magnetic induction mechanisms, we have designed a bioinspired weak magnetic vector (BWMV) sensor and integrated it with neural networks to achieve geomagnetic matching navigation. In this paper, we assess the performance of the BWMV sensor through finite element model simulation. The result validates its high measurement accuracy and outstanding adaptability to installation errors with the assistance of specially trained neural networks. Furthermore, we have enhanced the bioinspired geomagnetic navigation algorithm and proposed a more advanced search strategy to adapt to navigation under the condition of no prior geomagnetic map. A simulated geomagnetic navigation platform was constructed based on the finite element model to simulate the navigation of the BWMV sensor in geomagnetic environments. The simulated navigation experiment verified that the proposed search strategy applied to the BWMV sensor can achieve high-precision navigation. This study proposes a novel approach for the research of bioinspired geomagnetic navigation technology, which holds great development prospects.

Offshore vagrancy in passerines is predicted by season, wind-drift, and species characteristics

BackgroundMigratory birds accomplish remarkable feats of long-distance navigation. Vagrants, few individuals who migrate to incorrect locations, reveal conditions where orientation and navigation fail. Studies of vagrancy on a continental scale reveal the importance of external factors such as strong winds driving birds off course, clouds obscuring migratory landmarks, and natural disruptions in the Earth’s magnetic field interfering with migratory orientation. Species may also possess characteristics that make them more prone to vagrancy. The external drivers of vagrancy on a smaller scale are less understood.MethodsI used eBird, a community science dataset comprising millions of bird observations, to study land passerines observed over the Pacific Ocean, here termed offshore vagrants. These data present the opportunity to study a particular case of vagrancy: small-scale displacement into highly inhospitable areas. I modeled how season, wind, lack of visibility, interference with magnetoreception, and species differences may predict offshore vagrancy. Then, I modeled how species vagrancy likelihood is predicted by morphological and life history traits.ResultsVagrancy was more common in the fall and positively associated with stronger tail winds in the spring. Species with greater preference for understory foraging habitat were less likely to occur as vagrants. Species vagrancy likelihood was higher in birds with a longer migration distance and rounded wings, but the relationship was weaker in birds with a pointed wings. Brown-headed Cowbirds were the most common offshore species in terms of absolute number of records and proportional to onshore frequency.ConclusionsOffshore community science records proved revealing of mechanisms for small scale vagrancy in passerines. Offshore vagrancy can be driven by wind drift in the spring, but not in the fall despite higher overall levels of vagrancy. Life history characteristics like foraging habitat preference and migration duration may make some species more vulnerable to the effects of wind drift. Species with longer migrations may have more time to encounter vagrancy causing events, but greater aerodynamic efficiency may counteract this effect.

Changes in movement patterns in relation to sun conditions and spatial scales in wild western gorillas.

For most primates living in tropical forests, food resources occur in patchworks of different habitats that vary seasonally in quality and quantity. Efficient navigation (i.e., spatial memory-based orientation) towards profitable food patches should enhance their foraging success. The mechanisms underpinning primate navigating ability remain nonetheless mostly unknown. Using GPS long-term tracking (596days) of one group of wild western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), we investigated their ability to navigate at long distances, and tested for how the sun was used to navigate at any scale by improving landmark visibility and/or by acting as a compass. Long episodic movements ending at a distant swamp, a unique place in the home range where gorillas could find mineral-rich aquatic plants, were straighter and faster than their everyday foraging movements relying on spatial memory. This suggests intentional targeting of the swamp based on long-distance navigation skills, which can thus be efficient over a couple of kilometres. Interestingly, for both long-distance movements towards the swamp and everyday foraging movements, gorillas moved straighter under sunlight conditions even under a dense vegetation cover. By contrast, movement straightness was not markedly different when the sun elevation was low (the sun azimuth then being potentially usable as a compass) or high (so providing no directional information) and the sky was clear or overcast. This suggests that gorillas navigate their home range by relying on visual place recognition but do not use the sun azimuth as a compass. Like humans, who rely heavily on vision to navigate, gorillas should benefit from better lighting to help them identify landmarks as they move through shady forests. This study uncovers a neglected aspect of primate navigation. Spatial memory and vision might have played an important role in the evolutionary success of diurnal primate lineages.

Wind Lore as Environmental Knowledge in Southern Vanuatu

Wind lore constitutes an important domain of environmental knowledge in eight cultures of southern Vanuatu (Aneityum, Futuna, Aniwa, Nafe, Naka, Netwar, Nanu, and Nahual). Our study reviews previous studies in Oceania which document wind systems as used primarily for long-distance navigation. The named winds of southern Vanuatu are not merely abstract directional markers, nor primarily for use in navigation, but are closely tied to the local geography, agriculture, health, and seasonal changes. Winds are part of everyday, embodied experience and cognitive-spiritual understanding of the environment. Wind lore is gradually being forgotten, but can still be described in detail by experts. We conclude by situating wind lore within a culture complex that includes knowledge of agriculture, fishing, time-reckoning, and weather magic. Our documentation of these systems is ongoing, and in collaboration with local experts.

Multimodal Motion Control of Soft Ferrofluid Robot With Environment and Task Adaptability

Soft microrobotics has recently been an active field that advances new microrobot design, adaptive motion, and biomedical applications. In this work, we study the ferrofluid robot (FR), which has soft nature and exhibits paramagnetism. Currently, motion of the FR is usually realized by magnetic force, and the task execution requires relatively complex systems for simultaneous field and gradient control. To enable the FR with more motion modes for environment and task adaptability, we program three dynamic field forms and realize three corresponding torque-actuated motion modes: <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Rolling</i> , <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Wobbling</i> , and <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Oscillating</i> . Together with the force-based <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Dragging</i> mode, we provide a complete motion control scheme for the FR. As this scheme only requires 3-D dynamic fields or gradients for actuation, the complexity of the magnetic actuation system is reduced. We formulate the motion and deformation actuation principles of the FR, and the four motion modes are demonstrated and characterized. With the implementation of automated tracking and control algorithms, controllability of the new torque-based modes is testified. We then fabricate different kinds of environments and cargoes to validate the environment and task adaptability of the FR by using the proposed scheme. Especially, we implement the scheme on a self-constructed system consisting of three mobile coils, and experiments realize the long-distance navigation of the FR via <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Rolling</i> or <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Dragging</i> modes. The ultrasound-guided navigation in a 3-D tissue-mimicking endovascular environment shows the potential for delivery applications.

LD-SLAM: A Robust and Accurate GNSS-Aided Multi-Map Method for Long-Distance Visual SLAM

Continuous, robust, and precise localization is pivotal in enabling the autonomous operation of robots and aircraft in intricate environments, particularly in the absence of GNSS (global navigation satellite system) signals. However, commonly employed approaches, such as visual odometry and inertial navigation systems, encounter hindrances in achieving effective navigation and positioning due to issues of error accumulation. Additionally, the challenge of managing extensive map creation and exploration arises when deploying these systems on unmanned aerial vehicle terminals. This study introduces an innovative system capable of conducting long-range and multi-map visual SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) using monocular cameras equipped with pinhole and fisheye lens models. We formulate a graph optimization model integrating GNSS data and graphical information through multi-sensor fusion navigation and positioning technology. We propose partitioning SLAM maps based on map health status to augment accuracy and resilience in large-scale map generation. We introduce a multi-map matching and fusion algorithm leveraging geographical positioning and visual data to address excessive discrete mapping, leading to resource wastage and reduced map-switching efficiency. Furthermore, a multi-map-based visual SLAM online localization algorithm is presented, adeptly managing and coordinating distinct geographical maps in different temporal and spatial domains. We employ a quadcopter to establish a testing system and generate an aerial image dataset spanning several kilometers. Our experiments exhibit the framework’s noteworthy robustness and accuracy in long-distance navigation. For instance, our GNSS-assisted multi-map SLAM achieves an average accuracy of 1.5 m within a 20 km range during unmanned aerial vehicle flights.

Deep Learning-Based Inertial Navigation Technology for Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Long-Distance Navigation—A Review

Deep Learning-Based Inertial Navigation Technology for Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Long-Distance Navigation—A Review

Speed and energy optimization method for the inland all-electric ship in battery-swapping mode

Zero-emission battery-powered ship is considered the ideal technical solution to achieve emission reduction and energy conservation in inland shipping. However, due to long charging time, limited onboard space, and initial investment cost, the all-electric ship in battery charging mode may not be suitable for inland long-distance navigation. Therefore, the all-electric ship in battery-swapping mode is proposed, and a joint optimization method is designed to acquire optimal voyage scheduling and energy management. First, considering the environmental factors of water speed and water depth and cargo amount, the energy consumption model for the all-electric ship in battery-swapping mode is established by analyzing its energy transfer process. Second, a speed and energy optimization model is established to minimize the battery-swapping cost, considering the constraints of sailing speed, sailing time, and battery energy use. Third, differential evolution with neighborhood search (NSDE) is adopted to solve this nonlinear and complex problem. Finally, a case study for the ship in the Yangtze River is studied to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that the operation cost could be minimized by this method effectively.

Organization of projections from the entorhinal cortex to the hippocampal formation of the Egyptian fruit bat Rousettus aegyptiacus.

The hippocampal formation and entorhinal cortex are crucially involved in learning and memory as well as in spatial navigation. The conservation of these structures across the entire mammalian lineage demonstrates their importance. Information on a diverse set of spatially tuned neurons has become available, but we only have a rudimentary understanding of how anatomical network structure affects functional tuning. Bats are the only order of mammals that have evolved true flight, and with this specialization comes the need to navigate and behave in a three dimensional (3D) environment. Spatial tuning of cells in the entorhinal-hippocampal network of bats has been studied for some time, but whether the reported tuning in 3D is associated with changes in the entorhinal-hippocampal network is not known. Here we investigated the entorhinal-hippocampal projections in the Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus), by injecting chemical anterograde tracers in the entorhinal cortex. Detailed analyses of the terminations of these projections in the hippocampus showed that both the medial and lateral entorhinal cortex sent projections to the molecular layer of all subfields of the hippocampal formation. Our analyses showed that the terminal distributions of entorhinal fibers in the hippocampal formation of Egyptian fruit bats-including the proximo-distal and longitudinal topography and the layer-specificity-are similar to what has been described in other mammalian species such as rodents and primates. The major difference in entorhinal-hippocampal projections that was described to date between rodents and primates is in the terminal distribution of the DG projection. We found that bats have entorhinal-DG projections that seem more like those in primates than in rodents. It is likely that the latter projection in bats is specialized to the behavioral needs of this species, including 3D flight and long-distance navigation.

Real-Time Navigation of an Untethered Miniature Robot Using Mobile Ultrasound Imaging and Magnetic Actuation Systems

Remotely actuated small-scale robots have shown promising capabilities in targeted delivery, micromanipulation, and biosensing. However, challenges remain in imaging and control of a robot in a large workspace, especially when conducting targeted navigation in hard-to-reach and tortuous regions of a living body. In this work, we propose a strategy for real-time magnetic navigation of an untethered miniature robot in a large workspace using ultrasound image feedback. A mobile electromagnetic coil-based system is designed to control and simultaneously track the robot in a large working space. An ultrasound probe is integrated with a three degree-of-freedom (DoF) manipulator to sweep the workspace and actively follow the miniature robot, where a dynamic region of interest (ROI) is applied to track the robot in real-time. Experiments in two tissue-mimicking phantoms with branching and tortuous environments are respectively conducted. Results demonstrate that the robot can selectively navigate along different paths of the branching environment, and it also exhibits long-distance navigation in a tortuous environment. The mean transverse deviations between the planned trajectory and tracking position are less than the radius of the tube, and the mean tracking intervals are less than half body length of the robot. These results validate the feasibility of the mobile ultrasound-integrated navigation strategy, demonstrating a potential approach for navigating a miniature robot inside hard-to-reach regions under medical imaging guidance.

Traffic Cones Detection for Autonomous Ground Vehicle

Jelajah V-18 is an autonomous vehicle prototype where can navigate autonomously using Global Positioning System (GPS) for long-distance navigation and can find out the surrounding conditions to navigate short distances using cameras and proximity sensors. The vehicle also has a system that can search and recognize a static object using an image processing system. This research focuses on the detection of an objects in the form of traffic cones using the (Hue, Saturation, Value) HSV method to recognize objects by the color, then with the binary method the image of the object will be converted back to get the edges of the object shape and contour where the system can recognize the shape of the object. Based on the implementation and experiments conducted, the robot can detect traffic cone objects with a success rate of 100 percent at a distance of 1-6 meters and 35.67 percent at a distance of 7 meters.

Shearwaters sometimes take long homing detours when denied natural outward journey information.

The cognitive processes (learning and processing of information) underpinning the long-distance navigation of birds are poorly understood. Here, we used the homing motivation of the Manx shearwater to investigate navigational decision making in a wild bird by displacing them 294 km to the far side of a large island (the island of Ireland). Since shearwaters are reluctant to fly over land, the island blocked the direct route home, forcing a navigational decision. Further still, on the far side of the obstacle, we chose a release site where the use of local knowledge could facilitate a 20% improvement in route efficiency if shearwaters were able to anticipate and avoid a large inlet giving the appearance of open water in the home direction. We found that no shearwater took the most efficient initial route home, but instead oriented in the home direction (even once the obstacle became visible). Upon reaching the obstacle, four shearwaters subsequently circumnavigated the land mass via the long route, travelling a further 900 km as a result. Hence, despite readily orienting homewards immediately after displacement, shearwaters seem unaware of the scale of the obstacle formed by a large land mass despite this being a prominent feature of their regular foraging environment.

Position Correction and Trajectory Optimization of Underwater Long-Distance Navigation Inspired by Sea Turtle Migration

Accumulating evidence suggests that migrating animals store navigational “maps” in their brains, decoding location information from geomagnetic information based on their perception of the magnetic field. Inspired by this phenomenon, a novel geomagnetic inversion navigation framework was proposed to address the error constraint of a long-distance inertial navigation system. In the first part of the framework, the current paper proposed a geomagnetic bi-coordinate inversion localization approach which enables an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to estimate its current position from geomagnetic information like migrating animals. This paper suggests that the combination of geomagnetic total intensity (F) and geomagnetic inclination (I) can determine a unique geographical location, and that there is a non-unique mapping relationship between the geomagnetic parameters and the geographical coordination (longitude and latitude). Then the cumulative error of the inertial navigation system is corrected, according to the roughly estimated position information. In the second part of the framework, a cantilever beam model is proposed to realize the optimal correction of the INS historical trajectory. Finally, the correctness of the geomagnetic bi-coordinate inversion localization model we proposed was verified by outdoor physical experiments. In addition, we also completed a geomagnetic/inertial navigation integrated long-distance semi-physical test based on the real navigation information of the AUV. The results show that the geomagnetic inversion navigation framework proposed in this paper can constrain long-distance inertial navigation errors and improve the navigation accuracy by 73.28% compared with the pure inertial navigation mode. This implies that the geomagnetic inversion localization will play a key role in long-distance AUV navigation correction.

Sensation to navigation: a computational neuroscience approach to magnetic field navigation.

Diverse taxa use Earth's magnetic field (i.e., magnetoreception) as a guide during long-distance navigation. However, despite decades of research, specific sensory mechanisms of magnetoreception remain unconfirmed. Necessarily, this has led to theoretical and computational work developing hypotheses of how animals may navigate using magnetoreception. One hypothesized strategy relies on an animal using combinations of magnetic intensity and inclination as a kind of signature to identify a specific region or location. Using these signatures, animals could use a waypoint-based navigation strategy. We show that this navigation strategy is biologically plausible using a close approximation of neural processing to successfully guide an agent in a simulated magnetic field. Moreover, we accomplish this strategy using a processing approach previously utilized for mechanoreception, suggesting processing of Earth's magnetic field may share features with the processing of other, more well-understood sensory systems. Taken together, our results suggest that both for the engineering of novel navigation systems and the study of animal magnetoreception, we should take lessons from other sensory systems.

Optimal Any-Angle Pathfinding on a Sphere

&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; Pathfinding in Euclidean space is a common problem faced in robotics and computer games. For long-distance navigation on the surface of the earth or in outer space however, approximating the geometry as Euclidean can be insufficient for real-world applications such as the navigation of spacecraft, aeroplanes, drones and ships. This article describes an any-angle pathfinding algorithm for calculating the shortest path between point pairs over the surface of a sphere. Introducing several novel adaptations, it is shown that Anya as described by Harabor &amp; Grastien for Euclidean space can be extended to Spherical geometry. There, where the shortest-distance line between coordinates is defined instead by a great-circle path, the optimal solution is typically a curved line in Euclidean space. In addition the turning points for optimal paths in Spherical geometry are not necessarily corner points as they are in Euclidean space, as will be shown, making further substantial adaptations to Anya necessary. Spherical Anya returns the optimal path on the sphere, given these different properties of world maps defined in Spherical geometry. It preserves all primary benefits of Anya in Euclidean geometry, namely the Spherical Anya algorithm always returns an optimal path on a sphere and does so entirely on-line, without any preprocessing or large memory overheads. Performance benchmarks are provided for several game maps including Starcraft and Warcraft III as well as for sea navigation on Earth using the NOAA bathymetric dataset. Always returning the shorter path compared with the Euclidean approximation yielded by Anya, Spherical Anya is shown to be faster than Anya for the majority of sea routes and slower for Game Maps and Random Maps. &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;

Egyptian fruit bats exhibit precise 3D spatial memory that eclipses sensory information

Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) have well-developed vision and lingual echolocation, which provide complementary sensory information to execute natural behaviors, such as obstacle avoidance and landing. However, spatial memory can reduce the computational load in natural tasks and there is evidence that bats sometimes fail to use sensory information when they operate in familiar surroundings. Here we investigate the precision of this bat species’ spatial memory for a landing location when it has access to vision and sonar echoes and when it has access to sonar echoes alone. Animals were trained for about 10 days to find a 5 cm diameter landing platform at a fixed location in a 2.5 × 6 m2 flight corridor and later tested when the landing platform was shifted in azimuth and elevation by 5–30 cm. The bat’s 3D flight trajectory was tracked with high-speed video cameras and its sonar inspection of objects was quantified with an ultrasound microphone array that permits reconstruction of the sonar beam aim. Our data suggest that spatial memory in Egyptian fruit bats is highly precise and eclipses multimodal sensory information. This bat species’ robust reliance on 3D spatial memory may support long-distance navigation and forage in the natural environment.

The homing pigeons’ olfactory map is affected by geographical barriers

The factors affecting the olfaction-based navigational performances of homing pigeons released at relatively long distance (beyond 100 km from home) have in the past been subject to several investigations both in Germany and Italy using observations of vanishing bearing distributions. These studies highlighted the complexity of long-distance navigation in homing pigeons, which remains a poorly investigated aspect. In this tracking study we report how the homing performances of pigeons housed in Arnino (Pisa, Italy) were affected by the presence/absence of a mountain range (the Northern Apennines) interposed between the home and the release site area (release sites: Trans = mountain barrier, Cis = no mountain barrier). We displaced unmanipulated control pigeons, anosmic pigeon, and pigeons transported in purified air to release sites located at a distance ranging between 95 and 246 km from home. There, birds were released without further manipulation. The navigational performances of anosmic pigeons were impaired at both Cis and Trans sites compared to both smelling groups. Both unmanipulated control pigeons and pigeons transported in purified air but allowed to smell environmental air at both the release site and after release displayed unimpaired navigational abilities at the Cis site, but impaired homing success and impaired homeward orientation at the Trans sites. Nevertheless, their homeward component was significantly greater than that of the anosmic birds at both geographical areas. This suggests that the Northern Apennine acts as a geographical barrier affecting the olfactory map accuracy of Arnino pigeons, rather than totally reducing its spatial extent.

Правовий статус суднових механіків морського торговельного флоту Азово-чорноморського регіону ХІХ - початку ХХ століть

This article reveals the problems of the personnel of the crews of sea-going merchant vessels of the Azov-Black Sea region. The unrestrained development of domestic and foreign trade in the conditions of a shortage of professional personnel of the merchant navy pushed the Russian Empire to the legal regulation of the competencies of ship mechanics in the early XX century. Until 1903, the legal status of mechanics in the Russian merchant navy was uncertain. Ship mechanics in the Trade Charter of 1893 were listed as members of the crew of free hire and were not part of the command staff. This created serious inconveniences both for ship captains, who found it difficult to cooperate with mechanics, and for mechanics who had no legal basis to manage their immediate subordinates (drivers and firemen). In addition, in the Russian Empire at that time there was no clear system of ship mechanics training for both cabotage and long-distance navigation due to the low level of population’s education, and insufficient attention from the state to the problems of the merchant navy. «Regulations about mechanics on ships of the merchant navy», approved in 1903 defined the state benefits to ship mechanics − deprivation from military service and enlistment in the command of the ship, provided an opportunity to obtain the rights of honorary citizen. It defined the requirements for those who aspired to obtain the positions of ship mechanics: reaching the age of majority, passing the tests of the qualification commission and the presence of a practical qualification. The regulation of the legal status of ship mechanics at the legislative level has influenced on the organization of their training in the Russian Empire. In 1901, a mechanical department for the training of ship mechanics was opened at the Odessa School of Merchant Shipping, for the first time in the Russian Empire. There were no educational institutions in which they could receive higher education in the early XX century. The appearance of the «Regulations on Mechanics on Merchant Navy Ships» in 1903 corrected the negative situation caused by the legal uncertainty of the rights and responsibilities of merchant navy mechanics. The provision raised the prestige of ship mechanics, who received officer's rights and, at the same time, increased their salaries.

Airborne Integrated Navigation System Based on SINS/GPS/TAN/EOAN

Considering the drawbacks that GPS signal is susceptible to obstacles and TAN becomes useless in some area when without any terrain data or with a featureless terrain field, to realize long-distance and high-precision navigation, a navigation system based on SINS/GPS/TAN/EOAN is presented. When GPS signal is available, GPS is used to correct errors of SINS; when GPS is unavailable, a terrain selection method based on the entropy weighted gray relational decision-making method is use to distinguish terrain into matchable areas and unmatchable areas; then, for the matchable areas, TAN is used to correct errors of SINS, for the unmatchable areas, EOAN is used to correct errors of SINS. The principles of SINS, GPS, TAN, and EOAN are analyzed, the mathematic models of SINS/GPS, SINS/TAN, and SINS/EOAN are constructed, and finally the federated Kalman filter is used to fuse navigation information. Simulation results show that the trajectory of SINS/GPS/TAN/EOAN is close to the ideal one in both matchable area or unmatchable area and whose navigation errors are obviously reduced, which is important for the realization of long-time and high-precision positioning.

Vision does not impact walking performance in Argentine ants.

Many walking insects use vision for long-distance navigation, but the influence of vision on rapid walking performance that requires close-range obstacle detection and directing the limbs towards stable footholds remains largely untested. We compared Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) workers in light versus darkness while traversing flat and uneven terrain. In darkness, ants reduced flat-ground walking speeds by only 5%. Similarly, the approach speed and time to cross a step obstacle were not significantly affected by lack of lighting. To determine whether tactile sensing might compensate for vision loss, we tracked antennal motion and observed shifts in spatiotemporal activity as a result of terrain structure but not illumination. Together, these findings suggest that vision does not impact walking performance in Argentine ant workers. Our results help contextualize eye variation across ants, including subterranean, nocturnal and eyeless species that walk in complete darkness. More broadly, our findings highlight the importance of integrating vision, proprioception and tactile sensing for robust locomotion in unstructured environments.