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Bio-inspired modeling and implementation of the ocelli visual system of flying insects

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Abstract

Two visual sensing modalities in insects, the ocelli and compound eyes, provide signals used for flight stabilization and navigation. In this article, a generalized model of the ocellar visual system is developed for a 3-D visual simulation environment based on behavioral, anatomical, and electrophysiological data from several species. A linear measurement model is estimated from Monte Carlo simulation in a cluttered urban environment relating state changes of the vehicle to the outputs of the ocellar model. A fully analog-printed circuit board sensor based on this model is designed and fabricated. Open-loop characterization of the sensor to visual stimuli induced by self motion is performed. Closed-loop stabilizing feedback of the sensor in combination with optic flow sensors is implemented onboard a quadrotor micro-air vehicle and its impulse response is characterized.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Hector Escobar Alvarez for his assistance with vehicle hardware integration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Gregory Gremillion & J. Sean Humbert

  2. Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College, London, SW7 2AZ, UK

    Holger G. Krapp

Authors
  1. Gregory Gremillion
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  2. J. Sean Humbert
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  3. Holger G. Krapp
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gregory Gremillion.

Additional information

This work was supported by AFOSR FA9550-09-1-0075.

Appendix

Appendix

Matrix of relative variance values, \(\sigma _\mathrm{rel}^2\), from (4):

$$\begin{aligned} R \!=\! \left[ \begin{array}{c@{\quad }c@{\quad }c@{\quad }c@{\quad }c@{\quad }c@{\quad }c@{\quad }c} 3.291 &{} \mathbf{0.2490 } &{} \mathbf{0.0044 } &{} \mathbf{0.0045 } &{} 245.1 &{} \mathbf{0.0090 } &{} \mathbf{0.0379 } &{} 691.2 \\ 26350 &{} \mathbf{0.2198 } &{} 18.548 &{} 5.776 &{} 7.442 &{} \mathbf{0.0068 } &{} \mathbf{0.0088 } &{} 1468 \\ 178.79 &{} \mathbf{0.2431 } &{} 653.8 &{} 32.71 &{} 7.030 &{} \mathbf{0.0082 } &{} \mathbf{0.0089 } &{} 126.7 \nonumber \end{array} \right] \\ \end{aligned}$$
(11)

Matrix of partial F-ratio values, \(F_n\), from (5):

$$\begin{aligned} P = \left[ \begin{array}{c@{\quad }c@{\quad }c@{\quad }c@{\quad }c@{\quad }c@{\quad }c@{\quad }c} \mathbf{427.3 } &{} \mathbf{1309 } &{} \mathbf{1488 } &{} 0.4943 &{} \mathbf{612.1 } &{} \mathbf{355.2 } &{} 0.4641 &{} \mathbf{138.4 } \\ \mathbf{757.0 } &{} \mathbf{1194 } &{} \mathbf{6.315 } &{} 0.0740 &{} \mathbf{687.6 } &{} \mathbf{420.1 } &{} 0.5089 &{} \mathbf{175.1 } \\ \mathbf{753.5 } &{} \mathbf{1134 } &{} \mathbf{3.528 } &{} 0.0564 &{} \mathbf{634.4 } &{} \mathbf{702.5 } &{} 0.4819 &{} \mathbf{215.3 } \nonumber \end{array} \right] \\ \end{aligned}$$
(12)

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Gremillion, G., Humbert, J.S. & Krapp, H.G. Bio-inspired modeling and implementation of the ocelli visual system of flying insects. Biol Cybern 108, 735–746 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00422-014-0610-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00422-014-0610-x

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