Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

We report on the design and implementation of an autonomous robot that performs phototaxis under the control of a simulated neural network. The mechanical configuration of the robot and its neural network controller are patterned after those believed to produce chemotaxis in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The network is first optimized to produce phototaxis in a simulated, nematode-like robot and then is tested on a real robot. We find that both the simulated and real robot perform reliably, making nearly identical trajectories for similar environments and similar starting conditions. Furthermore, their performance is robust to significant perturbations of the robot's locomotion parameters. Finally, we discuss the implicit computational rule that this network uses to control phototaxis. This makes the results intuitive and improves our intuition about control of tactic behavior in two dimensions.

Keywords

robot nematode chemotaxis phototaxis neural network;robustness

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bargmann, C. I. (1993). Genetic and cellular analysis of behavior in C . elegans. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 16, 47-71.

Bargmann, C.I. , Hartwieg, E. , & Horvitz, H.R. (1993). Odorant-selective genes and neurons mediate olfaction in C. elegans. Cell, 74, 515-527.

Bargmann, C.I. , & Horvitz, H.R. (1991). Chemosensory neurons with overlapping functions direct chemotaxis to multiple chemicals in C. elegans. Neuron , 7, 729-742.

Bell, W.J. (1991). Searching behavior: The behavioural ecology of finding resources. London : Chapman and Hall.

Berg, H.C. , & Brown, D.A. (1972). Chemotaxis in Escherichia coli analyzed by three-dimensional tracking. Nature, 239, 500-504.

Coburn, C.M. , & Bargmann, C.I. (1996). A putative cyclic nucleotide-gated channel is required for sensory development and function in C. elegans. Neuron, 17, 695-706.

Culotti, J.G. , & Russell, R.L. (1978). Osmotic avoidance defective mutants of the nematode caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics, 90, 243-256.

Davis, R.E. , & Stretton, A. O. W. (1989). Signaling properties of Ascaris motorneurons : Graded active responses, graded synaptic transmission, and tonic transmitter release. Journal of Neuroscience, 9, 415-425.

Ferrée, T.C. , Marcotte, B.A. , & Lockery, S.R. (1997). Neural network models of chemotaxis in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems, 9, 55-61.

10.

Ferrée, T.C. , & Lockery, S.R. (1998). Computational rulesforchemotaxis in the nematode C. elegans. Manuscript submitted for publication.

11.

Goodman, M.B. , Hall, D.H. , Avery, L. , & Lockery, S.R. (1998). Active currents regulate sensitivity and dynamic range in C. elegans neurons. Neurons, in press.

12.

Gould, J.L. (1986). The local map of honeybees: Do insects have cognitive maps? Science, 232, 861-863.

13.

Hirose, S. (1993). Biologically inspired robots: Snake-like locomotors and manipulators. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

14.

Masters, T. (1995). Advanced algorithms for neural networks: A C++ sourcebook. New York: Wiley.

15.

Rieke, F. , Warland, D. , de Ruyter van Steveninck, R. , & Bialek, W. (1997). Spikes: Exploring the neural code. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

16.

Schmidt-Koenig, K. , & Schlichte, H.J. (1972). Homing in pigeons with impaired vision. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 69, 2446-2447.

17.

Schone, H. (1984). Spatial orientation: The spatial control of behavior in animals and man. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

18.

Ward, S. (1973). Chemotaxis by the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans: Identification of attractants and analysis of the response by use of mutants . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 70, 817-821.

19.

White, J.G. , Southgate, E. , Thompson, J.N. , & Brenner, S. (1986). The structure of the nervous system of C. elegans . Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London , 314, 1-340.

20.

Worst, R. , & Linnemann, R. (1996). Construction and operation of a snake-like robot. In Proceedings of IEEE International Joint Symposia on Intelligence and Systems Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society Press.

Robust Spatial Navigation in a Robot Inspired by Chemotaxis in Caenorhabditis elegans

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References