These desert ants live in salt pans and are ideal models for navigation research. When they set out in search of food in their flat, bare, hostile environment, they are nevertheless always able to find their way back to their nest on the shortest route possible.

Imagine a drone that could bounce off a building instead of crashing into it, or move safely and seamlessly among workers at a skyscraper under construction. While most drones cause damage when they collide with objects or people, a new flying robot promises safer flights by mimicking bat behavior.

Despite their tiny size, ants are sophisticated navigators that can find their way even while walking backwards, and these skills could help inspire better robots, scientists say. The findings in this week’s edition of the journal Current Biology are based on a colony of desert ants that were studied to see how they navigated home while carrying pieces of a cookie.

We thought we’d seen everything with driving dogs , but now silkmoths are muscling in. Maybe they don’t know they’re doing it, but researchers from the University of Tokyo have used the insects to steer tiny cars.