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Sensorimotor Convergence in Visual Navigation and Flight Control Systems
Applied Math| Speaker: | Sean Humbert, Cal Tech |
| Location: | 693 Kerr |
| Start time: | Tue, Nov 16 2004, 4:10PM |
Description
Insects exhibit unparalleled and incredibly robust flight dynamics in the
face of uncertainties. A fundamental principle contributing to this amazing
behavior is rapid processing and convergence of visual sensory information
to flight motor commands via spatial wide-field integration. Within the
control-theoretic framework presented here, a model for wide-field
integration of retinal image flow is developed which explains how various
image flow kernels correspond to feedback terms that stabilize the
different modes of planar flight. It is also demonstrated that the proposed
output feedback methodology is sufficient to explain experimentally observed
navigational heuristics as the centering and forward speed regulation
responses exhibited by honeybees.