Insect navigation

Research

The navigation of social insect foragers is existence proof that small brained animals are capable of sophisticated spatial cognition. In the Sussex Insect Navigation Group we combine lab and field work with computational modelling to investigate the mechanisms underpinning insect navigation.

 

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Cue integration in ant navigation: Interactions between pheromone trails and learnt visual cues.

The integration of social (trail) and private (visual cues) has been studied from a behavioural ecology perspective. However we know little about the mechanistic details of cue integration. We will study in fine-detail how ants respond to managed trails and visual cues in isolation, conflict or agreement. This will show us whether ants are able to solve the cue integration problem through judicious sensori-motor behaviour or whether the solution requires central processing.

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 Understanding visual cogntion in ants through combined behavioural and modelling appoaches. 

 The aim of this project is to be able to record interesting navigational behaviours of ants, such as learning walks, from natural environments where we can reconstruct the visual input received by ants during their navigation movements.

BBSRC logoHow do ants use, encode & identify natural panoramic scenes? Our aim is to examine in the lab and field the ways in which ants use, encode and recognise natural scenes. Despite its importance for navigation, little is known about how any animal encodes and identifies a natural scene. Insects with their low resolution eyes and small brains are likely to have efficient ways of encoding scenes that can be investigated through their stereotyped viewing strategies. 

EPSRC logoInsect-inspired algorithms for autonomous visual route navigation. Rather than building maps, insects seem to navigate in a procedural way; I.e they know what to do, not necessarily where they are. The simplest procedural way to use visual information is to let a panoramic view define a movement direction. This works well for ants because they only move in the direction of their body axis and their eyes are in a fixed position. We are investigating algorithms that can guide routes by simply searching for views that are familiar.