The Cricket Lab
Biologically motivated projects
Cricket phonotaxis
Phonotaxis in crickets and robots
Phonotaxis is the ability to approach sound sources. Female crickets can locate males by phonotaxis to the song they produce. The behaviour and underlying physiology have been studied in some depth. This project is concerned with building a robot model of this behaviour. It uses a specially designed electronic circuit to model the cricket ears and a simulated spiking neuron network to process the signal, and is mounted on a robot to be tested in various experiments.
Further details
Phonotaxis homepage.
Involved inside group:
- Barbara Webb
- Mark Payne
- Matthew Howard
Involved outside group:
- Berthold Hedwig, Dept of Zoology, University of Cambridge
- James Poulet, Dept of Zoology, University of Cambridge
- Andre van Schaik, Computing and Audio Research Laboratory, University of Sydney
Formerly involved:
- Ben Torben-Nielsen, Institute for Knowledge and Agent Technology, Universiteit Maastricht, the Netherlands
- Paolo Russo, University of Catania
- Richard Reeve
Biomorphic wind sensing
Integrating MEMS and aVLSI into robotics
This EPSRC funded project combines microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), analogue very large scale integration electronic circuit design (aVLSI), and neural simulation for controlling robots to develop a wind-sensing system based on insect hair cells. It will be implemented in a fully integrated MEMS/aVLSI chip and interfaced to a robot to test in controlling behaviours such as course stabilisation and upwind flight. Important issues to be addressed include: the most effective mechanical designs and the optimal sensor layouts for the task; the use of short-term synaptic plasticity in hardware neural circuits as a means of adaptive preprocessing of MEMS sensor output; development of hardware and software interfaces between aVLSI chips and digital circuits and neural simulations; and the design of insect inspired neural controllers for combining different sensory inputs and responding robustly in complex environments such as turbulent windflow.
Further details
Biomorphic wind sensing homepage.
Involved inside group:
Involved outside group:
- Rebecca Cheung, Institute of Integrated Micro- and Nano- Systems, University of Edinburgh
- Alister Hamilton, School of Engineering and Electronics, University of Edinburgh
- Tom Stevenson, Institute of Integrated Micro- and Nano- Systems, University of Edinburgh
- Yaxiong Zhang, School of Engineering and Electronics, University of Edinburgh
- Petros Argyrakis, Institute of Integrated Micro- and Nano- Systems, University of Edinburgh
Formerly involved:
Fly optomotor behaviour
Stabilising a Fly's Head
Flies stabilise their heads very quickly when disturbed in flight (the visual reflex takes approximately 25ms). Recent research indicates that this is thanks to a very simple mapping of motion detectors onto motor neurons which innervate the fly neck muscles. This project proposes to build a simple implementation of this system as a proof of principle and, if time allows, to investigate issues related to the mapping and connectivity of neurons in the system.
Further details
Optomotor homepage.
Involved inside group:
Involved outside group:
- Reid Harrison, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Utah
Formerly involved:
Stick Insect Walking
Biologically Inspired Six Legged Robot
We are particularly interested in the stick insect as a model because it is a slow walker accustomed to highly unpredictable environments. Neurophysiological data indicate that the walking pattern generator of the stick insect depends extensively on sensory information for patterning motoneurons. Furthermore, it is based on a decentralised architecture, in which legs coordinate with each other by means of intersegmental connectivity. Our goal is to incorporate fundamental control and behavioural strategies of walking insects into a reliable model. Particularly we are interested in mimicking the flexibility of the single leg controller, which receives only a simplified high-level command and whose communication with other legs is minimal.
Further details
Stick insect homepage.