Insects’ brains may be tiny, but their complexity and cognitive processing abilities fascinate scientists and engineers. What can be learned from studying and mimicking the capabilities of some insect brains has been used used to model technologies such as control systems for autonomous airplanes and search-and-rescue “roach-bots.” At ASU, Fulton Schools Professor Yu Cao and Assistant Professor Ted Pavlic are teaming with colleagues on research for a U. S. Department of Defense research agency aimed at advancing computational abilities to do things like scaling down artificial intelligence devices. In pursuit of that goal, they’ll be using knowledge gained from examining the mental capacities of certain species of bees.