Robots, crickets and ants: models of neural control of chemotaxis and phonotaxis

Neural control in animals can be investigated using robot models. Two simple behaviours are focussed on: pheromone trail following in ants and sound source localization in crickets. Our models address the real sensorimotor constraints and physiological underpinnings of these behaviours. Using alcohol gas sensors on a robot it is shown that a simple neural architecture can reproduce a range of trail-following behaviours that qualitatively resemble the results reported for ants. Building a more detailed auditory sensor based on the cricket ear it is shown that preference for song frequency and pattern does not require a recognition mechanism, using real cricket song as stimuli. Finally the spiking neuron models that enable us to examine exactly how these robust forms of motor control can emerge from small networks of neurons are introduced. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.