Valentin A. Nepomnyashchikh

Multi-robot searching algorithm using Lévy flight and artificial potential field

An efficient search algorithm is very crucial in robotic area, especially for exploration missions, where the target availability is unknown and the condition of the environment is highly unpredictable. In a very large environment, it is not sufficient to scan an area or volume by a single robot, multiple robots should be involved to perform the collective exploration. In this paper, we propose to combine bio-inspired search algorithm called Lévy flight and artificial potential field method to perform an efficient searching algorithm for multi-robot applications. The main focus of this work is to prove the concept and to measure the efficiency of the algorithm. Several experiments, which compare different search algorithms, are also performed.

Specialization and generalization of robot behaviour in swarm energy foraging

Energy supply is one of the most serious problems for micro-mechatronic devices. For collective systems, such as sensor networks or swarms of autonomous micro-robots, collective energy management is especially hard. This work describes a kinetic model of energy foraging and an application of bio-inspired harvesting behaviour to a real robot swarm. The heuristic strategy derived allows proper collective management of energy resources without using global knowledge and guarantees a good swarm efficiency. Despite the whole swarm having the same behavioural rules, some robots specialize in only a few foraging activities, whereas others are more universal in their behaviour. Such emergence of ‘specialists’ and ‘generalists’ is observed in animal groups and can indicate common behavioural principles underlying natural and artificial systems.

Project Animat Brain: Designing the Animat Control System on the Basis of the Functional Systems Theory

The paper proposes the framework for an animat control system (the Animat Brain) that is based on the Petr K. Anokhins theory of functional systems. We propose the animat control system that consists of a set of functional systems (FSs) and enables predictive and purposeful behavior. Each FS consists of two neural networks: the actor and the predictor. The actors are intended to form chains of actions and the predictors are intended to make prognoses of future events. There are primary and secondary repertoires of behavior: the primary repertoire is formed by evolution; the secondary repertoire is formed by means of learning. This paper describes both principles of the Animat Brain operation and the particular model of predictive behavior in a cellular landmark environment.

Influence of magnetic field on zebrafish activity and orientation in a plus maze.

We describe an impact of the geomagnetic field (GMF) and its modification on zebrafishs orientation and locomotor activity in a plus maze with four arms oriented to the north, east, south and west. Zebrafishs directional preferences were bimodal in GMF: they visited two arms oriented in opposed directions (east-west) most frequently. This bimodal preference remained stable for same individuals across experiments divided by several days. When the horizontal GMF component was turned 90° clockwise, the preference accordingly shifted by 90° to arms oriented to the north and south. Other modifications of GMF (reversal of both vertical and horizontal GMF components; reversal of vertical component only; and reversal of horizontal component only) did not exert any discernible effect on the orientation of zebrafish. The 90° turn of horizontal component also resulted in a significant increase of fishs locomotor activity in comparison with the natural GMF. This increase became even more pronounced when the horizontal component was repeatedly turned by 90° and back with 1min interval between turns. Our results show that GMF and its variations should be taken into account when interpreting zebrafishs directional preferences and locomotor activity in mazes and other experimental devices.

Individual-level consistency of different laterality measures in the goldbelly topminnow.

In humans, hemispheric language dominance is, to some degree, associated with handedness. Significant associations have been reported between several other lateralized functions. Much less is known about the organization of cerebral asymmetries in nonhuman species and, in particular, whether the presence of reversed asymmetry of one function is associated with a reversal of other lateralized functions or, instead, if cognitive functions lateralize independently. In this study, we compare four measures of sensory and motor laterality in the same individuals in a sample of goldbelly topminnows. A significant association was found between two measures of eye preference and two measures of motor laterality, but sensory and motor asymmetries were uncorrelated. We found interesting that individuals preferring to examine a predator with the right eye tended to use the left eye to look at a shoal mate and the reverse was true for fish that monitored predators with the left eye. This complementarity of functions could be adaptively advantageous for a small social fish, because it allows an individual to monitor the movements of its shoal mates with one eye as the other eye remains free to scan the surroundings for the presence of predators.

Lateralisation of rotational swimming but not fast escape response in the juvenile sterlet sturgeon, Acipenser ruthenus (Chondrostei: Acipenseridae)

For the first time, behavioural lateralisation was shown in a chondrostean fish (sterlet sturgeon Acipenser ruthenus). A significant directional bias was found in young A. ruthenus swimming along a circular swimway. This laterality manifested itself as an individual preference for a certain movement direction (either clockwise or counterclockwise) which was consistent at the retest 10 days later. On the other hand, no significant rotational bias was observed at the population level. The same sterlet individuals displayed the C-start (the first stage of escape response) elicited by sudden low-frequency sound vibrations (50 Hz). However, the experiments failed to reveal either individual or population laterality of this response: the frequencies of leftward and rightward bends in startled fish were virtually equal. These results demonstrate that the two types of laterality can be independent in fish.

Model of Plan Formation by New Caledonian Crows

Abstract The computer model of planning the rather complex behavior by New Caledonian crows is developed and investigated. The model characterizes the following processes: 1) analysis of predictions of elementary actions, 2) generation of a simple knowledge database that describes the set of initial situations, actions, and results of actions, 3) planning a concrete chain of consecutive actions. The model is inspired by the biological experiment on New Caledonian crows.

Behavioral and morphological asymmetries in roach Rutilus rutilus (Cyprinidae: Cypriniformes) underyearlings

The underyearlings of roach, Rutilus rutilus, displayed a bilateral asymmetry of C-bend—the initial stage of escape behavior. Most individuals exhibited a significant bias to turn leftward or rightward after being stimulated by electrical current. This individual asymmetry was consistent when the same fish were retested ten days later. A significant correlation was revealed between the behavioral asymmetry and the bilateral asymmetry of surface area of frontal (positive correlation) and parietal (negative correlation) cranial bones. No significant correlation was found with the bilateral asymmetry of other morphological characteristics: numbers of pores of the seismosensory canals (praeopercular-mandibular, supraorbital, and supratemporal) in flat cranial bones (dental, praeopercular, frontal, and parietal numbers of lateral line pores, and numbers of rays in pectoral and ventral fins.

The Behavior of Male Danio rerio Hamilton after Exposure of Fish Embryos to a Simulated Geomagnetic Storm

Embryos of the zebrafish Danio rerio were exposed for 24 h to a simulated geomagnetic storm. Fish that developed from these embryos came out of the starting enclosure into the aquarium sooner than those reared in the normal geomagnetic field. On the other hand, the two groups displayed no considerable difference in general locomotor activity. We hypothesize that exposure of embryos to a geomagnetic storm enhances tolerance to stress caused by a novel environment. A low stress level is, in turn, conductive to exploratory behavior.

The effect of a temporal shift in diurnal geomagnetic variation on roach Rutilus rutilus L. embryos: A comparison with effects of simulated geomagnetic storms

A study was made of the effects that 6- and 12-h shifts in diurnal geomagnetic variation relative to the night–day light cycles exert on roach Ritulus ritulus L. embryos. Either temporal shift in diurnal geomagnetic variation stimulated blastomere proliferation and early prelarval hatching in exposed embryos compared to controls. Underyearlings developing from exposed embryos displayed higher locomotor activity in a plusshaped maze, a lower number of rays in the anal fin, a redistribution of vertebrae through sections of the vertebral column, and a higher number of seismosensory system openings in the mandibular and preopercular bones. The effects were similar to those described previously for roaches exposed to a simulated geomagnetic storm during embryonic development. The results support the hypothesis that animals perceive geomagnetic storms as a dramatic disturbance that occurs in the habitual diurnal geomagnetic variation at an unusual time relative to the night–day light cycle, which acts as a primary zeitgeber of circadian biological rhythms.