Insect and Robot Navigation
Navigational strategies employed by insects enable them to walk or fly over long distances, find food and return to the nest. To accomplish this task they employ multiple strategies amongst which are navigation by dead-reckoning or path integration, landmark recognition, pattern recognition and contextual learning. In the CCNR, we study the strategies employed by ants and bees which enable them to perform such impressive navigation. Research encompasses traditional behavioural experiments as well as the use of computational models and physical robots. We are also interested in how an understanding of the insect navigation strategies can inform and inspire the design and implementation of robust autonomous robotic systems. Insect navigation workers and their research interests within the CCNR are under the direction of Prof. Tom Collett, head of the Sussex Insect Navigation Group , who has studied insect vision and navigation for over 30 years.
Prof. Tom Collet from the School of Life Sciences and Prof. Phil Husbands of the School of Informatics have recently received funding from the EPSRC for a project entitled "Rapid Insect-like Visual Learning Algorithms". This project, to be undertaken in the CCNR, will combine behavioural studies, modelling and statistical analysis of natural scenes. The project will provide a major new resource for the CCNR: A large 3D gantry robot which will enable us to replicate animal trajectories and analyse the visual input received during navigation and learning. For further questions please email Prof. Tom Collett.