The Development of Bio-Inspired Cortical Feature Maps for Robot Sensorimotor Controllers

Full version unavailable due to 3rd party copyright restrictions.This project applies principles from the field of Computational Neuroscience to Robotics research, in particular to develop systems inspired by how nature manages to solve sensorimotor coordination tasks. The overall aim has been to build a self-organising sensorimotor system using biologically inspired techniques based upon human cortical development which can in the future be implemented in neuromorphic hardware. This can then deliver the benefits of low power consumption and real time operation but with flexible learning onboard autonomous robots. A core principle is the Self-Organising Feature Map which is based upon the theory of how 2D maps develop in real cortex to represent complex information from the environment. A framework for developing feature maps for both motor and visual directional selectivity representing eight different directions of motion is described as well as how they can be coupled together to make a basic visuomotor system. In contrast to many previous works which use artificially generated visual inputs (for example, image sequences of oriented moving bars or mathematically generated Gaussian bars) a novel feature of the current work is that the visual input is generated by a DVS 128 silicon retina camera which is a neuromorphic device and produces spike events in a frame-free way. One of the main contributions of this work has been to develop a method of autonomous regulation of the map development process which adapts the learning dependent upon input activity. The main results show that distinct directionally selective maps for both the motor and visual modalities are produced under a range of experimental scenarios. The adaptive learning process successfully controls the rate of learning in both motor and visual map development and is used to indicate when sufficient patterns have been presented, thus avoiding the need to define in advance the quantity and range of training data. The coupling training experiments show that the visual input learns to modulate the original motor map response, creating a new visual-motor topological map.EPSRC, University of Plymouth Graduate Schoo

Venom Yield, Regeneration, and Composition in the Centipede Scolopendra Polymorpha

In this dissertation, I investigated yield, regeneration, and composition of centipede venom. In the first of three empirical studies, I investigated how size influenced venom volume yield and protein concentration in Scolopendra polymorpha and S. subspinipes. I also examined additional potential influences on yield in S. polymorpha, including relative forcipule size, relative mass, geographic origin, sex, time in captivity, and milking history. Volume yield was positively linearly related to body length in both species; however, body length and protein concentration were uncorrelated. In S. polymorpha, yield was most influenced by body length, but was also positively associated with relative forcipule length and relative body mass. In the second study, I investigated venom volume and total protein regeneration during the 14-day period subsequent to venom extraction in S. polymorpha. I further tested the hypothesis that venom protein components, separated by RP-FPLC, undergo asynchronous synthesis. During the first 48 hours, volume and protein mass increased linearly. However, protein regeneration lagged behind volume regeneration, with only 65–86% of venom volume and 29–47% of protein mass regenerated during the first 2 days. No significant additional regeneration occurred over the subsequent 12 days. Analysis of chromatograms of individual venom samples revealed that five of 10 chromatographic regions and 12 of 28 peaks demonstrated changes in percent of total peak area among milking intervals, indicating that venom proteins are regenerated asynchronously. In the third study, I characterized the venom composition of S. polymorpha using proteomic methods. I demonstrated that the venom of S. polymorpha is complex, generating 23 bands by SDS-PAGE and 56 peaks by RP-FPLC. MALDI TOF MS revealed hundreds of components with masses ranging from 1014.5 to 82863.9 Da. The distribution of molecular masses was skewed toward smaller peptides and proteins, with 72% of components found below 12 kDa. BLASTp sequence similarity searching of MS/MSderived amino acid sequences demonstrated 20 different sequences with similarity to known venom components, including serine proteases, ion-channel activators/inhibitors, and neurotoxins. In Appendix A, I reviewed how animals strategically deploy various emissions, including venom, highlighting how the metabolic and ecological value of these emissions leads to their judicious use

2018 - The Twenty-third Annual Symposium of Student Scholars

The full program book from the Twenty-third Annual Symposium of Student Scholars, held on April 19, 2018. Includes abstracts from the presentations and posters.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/sssprograms/1020/thumbnail.jp

How to think tools? A comparison of cognitive aspects in tool behavior of animals and during human evolution

Objects are naturally occurring items or artificially made artifacts that subjects – humans and animals – act with. They serve as tools in the widest sense: they are used to do something. As part of an activity they are the material expressions of cogitation, especially the ability to think outside the box. The making and use of objects is always tied to a goal that cannot be achieved directly, but only by means of a medium: the need for enhancement of individual faculties is perceived, and an object – not just any, but one that fits the challenge – is found or devised to answer the problem. Object or tool behavior is a particular aspect of behavior that is based on causal connections and – at least partially – considerations thereof. Although the use of tools in the animal kingdom is widespread, it is by no means universal. Contemporary human behavior is characterized by the constant use of objects or tools. The solution of common problems and challenges, and, in extension, human life, without the presence and aid of utensils is inconceivable. Humanity is not characterized by physical and intellectual traits alone, but only becomes comprehensible through its unbreakable bond to inanimate objects, which through use become part of actions and thus of the human world. The connection between the consciously acting human subject and an object is established by means of cognitive processes, where the object, as a tool, becomes a temporally limited extension of the subject. The volume “How to think tools? A comparison of cognitive aspects in tool behavior of animals and during human evolution” approaches the specific link between object use and human cognition from theoretical and comparative perspectives. The first two parts give a theoretical overview to concepts behind the fundamental notions of human and cognition and discuss the potential of primates as a model for basic cognitive capacities of humans. Then evidence of the course of evolution of human thought is discussed: as a phylogenetic problem with epistemological, anatomical and genetic perspectives; as a problem between phylogeny and ontogeny considering the organization of thought; as an ontogenetic problem; and as a historical problem. The third part explores the means previously employed to comprehend the evolution of human thinking and the cognitive background to object behavior on the basis of archaeological artifacts. It starts with an excursion into the history of archaeological theory and then proceeds to discuss, by means of eight models, the potential and limitations of archaeological approaches to the study of the development of the human mind. The fourth part consists of a detailed study of the progressive development of human thinking, and expands to incorporate problem-solution-distance as a neutral, species and period independent basis of analysis, which applies to animal as well as human tool behavior. Following its discussion and the definition of the concept tool, as used in this study, is a short review of previous comparative studies on animal and human tool behavior. Then the database, containing an almost complete survey of tool usage in animals, is presented as the basis of the comparative study on problem-solution-distance, and the method of coding tool behavior in cognigrams is introduced. Following a general survey of animal tool behavior, various cognigrams of animal behavior are instanced. Numerous archaeological examples, coded in a similar fashion, then help to understand the further development of problem-solution-distance as one aspect of human cognitive evolution. The concluding discussion delves further into the question of which mechanisms drive and influence the development of tool behavior, the problem-solution-distance in particular, and the underlying planning capability. The synopsis of conclusions from this study offers a re-interpretation of the seemingly slow progress of tool development during the Old and Middle Palaeolithic and the “explosive” expansion of tool inventories at the start of the Late Palaeolithic, when modern humans appeared 40.000 years before present. Biological as well as cultural factors are responsible for the exponential increase of object behavior, which under close scrutiny can already be detected in the early phases of human cultural development and which continues to increase after the appearance of modern man.Objekte sind natürlich vorkommende Gegenstände oder künstlich hergestellte Artefakte, mit denen Subjekte – Menschen oder Tiere – handeln. Sie dienen als Werkzeuge im weitesten Sinn: sie werden gebraucht, um etwas zu tun. Als Teil einer Handlung sind sie der materielle Ausdruck der Denkfähigkeit, besonders der Fähigkeit, in Umwegen zu denken. Herstellung und Gebrauch von Objekten sind immer an ein Ziel gebunden, das nicht direkt, sondern nur mit Hilfe eines Mediums erreicht werden kann: Es wird ein Bedarf für eine Erweiterung der individuellen Fähigkeiten wahrgenommen und kein beliebiges, sondern ein dem Problem entsprechendes Objekt wird zur Lösung gesucht bzw. geschaffen. Objekt- oder Werkzeugverhalten ist ein besonderer Teil des Verhaltens, der auf kausalen Zusammenhängen und, zumindest teilweise, Überlegungen beruht. Der Umgang mit Werkzeugen ist im Tierreich zwar weitverbreitet, aber nicht universell. Das heutige menschliche Verhalten ist geprägt vom ständigen Umgang mit Objekten bzw. Werkzeugen. Die Lösung alltäglicher Aufgaben und Probleme und damit ein menschliches Leben ist ohne begleitende und unterstützende Geräte nicht vorstellbar. Der Mensch wird nicht nur durch körperliche und geistige Eigenheiten charakterisiert, sondern wird erst verständlich durch seine unauflösliche Verknüpfung mit unbelebten Objekten, die durch ihn zu Teilen von Handlungen und dadurch der menschlichen Welt werden. Die Verbindung zwischen dem bewusst handelnden Subjekt Mensch und einem Objekt wird durch kognitive Prozesse geschaffen. Das Objekt wird dadurch als Werkzeug zu einer zeitlich begrenzten Erweiterung des Subjekts. Der Band “How to think tools? A comparison of cognitive aspects in tool behavior of animals and during human evolution” beleuchtet die besondere Verbindung von Objektgebrauch und menschlicher Kognition au seiner theoretischen und einer vergleichenden Perspektive. Die ersten zwei Teile geben einen Überblick über die Konzepte hinter den grundlegenden Begriffen von Mensch und Kognition und erörtern das Potential von Primaten als Modelle für kognitive Basiskapazitäten bei Menschen. Im Folgenden wird Hinweisen nach dem Verlauf der Evolution des menschlichen Denkens nachgegangen: als phylogenetischem Problem mit epistemologischen, anatomischen und genetischen Perspektiven, als Problem zwischen Phylogenie und Ontogenie hinsichtlich der Organisation des Denkens, als ontogenetisches Problem und als historisches Problem. Der dritte Teil untersucht die Wege, die bislang eingeschlagen wurden, um die Evolution des menschlichen Denkens bzw. des kognitiven Hintergrunds des Objektverhaltens anhand archäologischer Artefakte nachzuvollziehen. Er beginnt mit einem Exkurs in die Geschichte der archäologischen Theorie und diskutiert dann anhand von acht Modellen die Potentiale, aber auch die Probleme archäologischer Ansätze zur Untersuchung der Entwicklung des menschlichen Geistes. Die im vierten Teil folgende Untersuchung des Verlaufs der Entwicklung des menschlichen Denkens greift die sowohl im tierischen, als auch im menschlichen Werkzeugverhalten fassbare Erweiterung der Problem-Lösung-Distanz als wertneutrale, art- und periodenunabhängige Untersuchungsgrundlage auf. Der Diskussion und der für diese Arbeit geltenden Definition des Werkzeugbegriffs folgt eine kurze Betrachtung bisheriger vergleichender Untersuchungen von tierischem und menschlichem Werkzeugverhalten. Als Grundlage für die vergleichende Untersuchung der Problem-Lösung-Distanz wird die Datenbank mit einem weitgehend vollständigen Überblick über tierischen Umgang mit Geräten vorgestellt und die Methode der Codierung von Werkzeugverhalten in Kognigrammen erläutert. Nach einem allgemeinen Überblick über das tierische Werkzeugverhalten werden verschiedene bei Tieren vorkommende Kognigramme beispielhaft untersucht. Anhand zahlreicher in gleicher Weise codierter archäologischer Beispiele kann dann die weitere Entwicklung der Problem-Lösung-Distanz als ein Aspekt der kognitiven Evolution des Menschen nachvollzogen werden. Die abschließende Diskussion geht der Frage nach, welche Mechanismen die Entwicklung des Werkzeugverhaltens, der Problem-Lösung-Distanz im Besonderen sowie der zugrundeliegenden Planungsfähigkeit antreiben und ihren Verlauf beeinflussen. Aus der Zusammenschau der Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit entsteht ein Bild, das den scheinbar langsamen Verlauf der Werkzeugentwicklung im Alt- und Mittelpaläolithikum und die „explosionsartige“ Entfaltung der Geräteinventare mit Beginn des Jungpaläolithikums und des Auftretens des anatomisch modernen Menschen um 40.000 Jahre vor heute neu interpretiert. Biologische wie auch kulturelle Faktoren führen zu einer exponentiellen Zunahme des Objektverhaltens, die sich bei differenzierter Betrachtung bereits in den Frühphasen der menschlichen Kulturentwicklung zeigt und auch nach dem Auftreten des modernen Menschen anhält

Exploring Animal Behavior Through Sound: Volume 1

This open-access book empowers its readers to explore the acoustic world of animals. By listening to the sounds of nature, we can study animal behavior, distribution, and demographics; their habitat characteristics and needs; and the effects of noise. Sound recording is an efficient and affordable tool, independent of daylight and weather; and recorders may be left in place for many months at a time, continuously collecting data on animals and their environment. This book builds the skills and knowledge necessary to collect and interpret acoustic data from terrestrial and marine environments. Beginning with a history of sound recording, the chapters provide an overview of off-the-shelf recording equipment and analysis tools (including automated signal detectors and statistical methods); audiometric methods; acoustic terminology, quantities, and units; sound propagation in air and under water; soundscapes of terrestrial and marine habitats; animal acoustic and vibrational communication; echolocation; and the effects of noise. This book will be useful to students and researchers of animal ecology who wish to add acoustics to their toolbox, as well as to environmental managers in industry and government

A Nature inspired guidance system for unmanned autonomous vehicles employed in a search role.

Since the very earliest days of the human race, people have been studying animal behaviours. In those early times, being able to predict animal behaviour gave hunters the advantages required for success. Then, as societies began to develop this gave way, to an extent, to agriculture and early studies, much of it trial and error, enabled farmers to successfully breed and raise livestock to feed an ever growing population. Following the advent of scientific endeavour, more rigorous academic research has taken human understanding of the natural world to much greater depth. In recent years, some of this understanding has been applied to the field of computing, creating the more specialised field of natural computing. In this arena, a considerable amount of research has been undertaken to exploit the analogy between, say, searching a given problem space for an optimal solution and the natural process of foraging for food. Such analogies have led to useful solutions in areas such as numerical optimisation and communication network management, prominent examples being ant colony systems and particle swarm optimisation; however, these solutions often rely on well-defined fitness landscapes that may not always be available. One practical application of natural computing may be to create behaviours for the control of autonomous vehicles that would utilise the findings of ethological research, identifying the natural world behaviours that have evolved over millennia to surmount many of the problems that autonomous vehicles find difficult; for example, long range underwater navigation or obstacle avoidance in fast moving environments. This thesis provides an exploratory investigation into the use of natural search strategies for improving the performance of autonomous vehicles operating in a search role. It begins with a survey of related work, including recent developments in autonomous vehicles and a ground breaking study of behaviours observed within the natural world that highlights general cooperative group behaviours, search strategies and communication methods that might be useful within a wider computing context beyond optimisation, where the information may be sparse but new paradigms could be developed that capitalise on research into biological systems that have developed over millennia within the natural world. Following this, using a 2-dimensional model, novel research is reported that explores whether autonomous vehicle search can be enhanced by applying natural search behaviours for a variety of search targets. Having identified useful search behaviours for detecting targets, it then considers scenarios where detection is lost and whether natural strategies for re-detection can improve overall systemic performance in search applications. Analysis of empirical results indicate that search strategies exploiting behaviours found in nature can improve performance over random search and commonly applied systematic searches, such as grids and spirals, across a variety of relative target speeds, from static targets to twice the speed of the searching vehicles, and against various target movement types such as deterministic movement, random walks and other nature inspired movement. It was found that strategies were most successful under similar target-vehicle relationships as were identified in nature. Experiments with target occlusion also reveal that natural reacquisition strategies could improve the probability oftarget redetection

Exploring Animal Behavior Through Sound: Volume 1

This open-access book empowers its readers to explore the acoustic world of animals. By listening to the sounds of nature, we can study animal behavior, distribution, and demographics; their habitat characteristics and needs; and the effects of noise. Sound recording is an efficient and affordable tool, independent of daylight and weather; and recorders may be left in place for many months at a time, continuously collecting data on animals and their environment. This book builds the skills and knowledge necessary to collect and interpret acoustic data from terrestrial and marine environments. Beginning with a history of sound recording, the chapters provide an overview of off-the-shelf recording equipment and analysis tools (including automated signal detectors and statistical methods); audiometric methods; acoustic terminology, quantities, and units; sound propagation in air and under water; soundscapes of terrestrial and marine habitats; animal acoustic and vibrational communication; echolocation; and the effects of noise. This book will be useful to students and researchers of animal ecology who wish to add acoustics to their toolbox, as well as to environmental managers in industry and government