The Antarium: A Reconstructed Visual Reality Device for Ant Navigation Research

Kócsi, Zoltán; Murray, Trevor G.; Dahmen, Hansjürgen; Narendra, Ajay; Zeil, Jochen

doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2020.599374

Cited by 17 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…An early innovation used patterned light projected onto screens in front of restrained animals 1,6,7 . In recent years, advances in computing and display technologies have enabled a range of alternative experimental options, including displays based on light-emitting diodes (LEDs) [8][9][10][11] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…restrained animals 1,6,7 . In recent years, advances in computing and display technologies have enabled a range of alternative experimental options, including displays based on light-emitting diodes (LEDs) [8][9][10][11] .Even more specialized display systems have been created to fill specific experimental needs. For example, the pioneering work characterizing the motion sensitive neurons in flies relied on an ingenious, rotatable mechanical stage that could present local motion of a rotating visual object over a large visual area 12 .…”

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confidence: 99%

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A high-speed, modular display system for diverse neuroscience applications

Isaacson

Ferguson

Loesche

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Visual stimulation of animals in the laboratory is a powerful technique for studying sensory control of complex behaviors. Since commercial displays are optimized for human vision, we established a novel display system based on custom-built modular LED panels that provides millisecond refresh, precise synchronization, customizable color combinations, and varied display configurations. This system simplifies challenging experiments. With variants of this display, we probed the speed limits of motion vision and examined the role of color vision in behavioral experiments with tethered flying Drosophila. Using 2-photon calcium imaging, we comprehensively mapped the tuning of visual projection neurons across the fly's field of view. Finally, using real-time behavior analysis, we developed low-latency interactive virtual environments and found that flying flies can independently control their navigation along two dimensions. This display system uniquely addresses most technical challenges of small animal vision experiments and is thoroughly documented for replicability.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A high-speed, modular display system for diverse neuroscience applications

Isaacson

Ferguson

Loesche

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…Our study is not the first to use UV LEDs to test UV perception (e.g. Bok et al., 2018; Stoddard et al., 2020); however, it is one of the first pixelated UV LED display that has the capabilities to show both mixed spectra and potentially moving images (also see Kócsi et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A five‐channel LED display to investigate UV perception

et al. 2021

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1. The ability to see ultraviolet (UV) light (<400 nm) may have importance for foraging, communication or navigation in many taxa including insects, crustaceans, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Behavioural experiments reveal how vision mediates such behaviour; however, our knowledge of UV perception is constrained by the challenge of creating and calibrating stimuli that reflect or emit UV. Commonly used technologies for displaying visual stimuli-such as computer screens and printers-are designed for human vision and thus are unsuitable for testing UV perception. 2. To overcome this limitation, we designed and constructed a display with five spectral channels with peak wavelengths as follows: red at 629 nm, green at 526 nm, blue at 466 nm, violet at 395 nm and UV at 367 nm. Each pixel of the display consists of five LEDs with a baffle to prevent crosstalk from adjacent pixels and a diffuser to promote uniform colour mixing. The LEDs are driven by high-performance pulse-width-modulated constant-current drivers with a maximum flicker rate of 64 kHz and a maximum frame rate of 6.5 kHz. This method allows colour mixing with wavelengths as low as 350 nm to be calibrated and tested rapidly and concurrently. 3. To demonstrate the utility of this display, we conducted colour detection tests using the anemonefish, Amphiprion ocellaris, a species known to have UV-sensitive cones. Fish were able to associate pecking all target colours ('Blue', 'UV-grey' and 'UV') with a food reward, demonstrating for the first time, UV perception in A. ocellaris. 4. The RGB-V-UV LED display is a useful device for behavioural tests of colour vision across a broad spectrum (350-650 nm) visible to many animals and can be used to investigate various questions concerning animal perception, including colour discrimination and categorisation. We include design documents and source code so this system can be further developed and modified to investigate other visual behaviours in a variety of taxa. K E Y W O R D S animal behaviour, colour vision, coral reefs, ultraviolet vision, visual ecology This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.

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“…The key specifications of the model are in terms of what can be sensed (a single attractant pheromone in this case) and what actions are possible [here only walking, as per other models (Wilensky, 1997 )]. Using recently developed immersive technologies for ants [such as the “Antarium” (Kócsi et al, 2020 )], it could be possible to combine observation in natural settings, simulations, and laboratory experiments to understand neuroethological aspects of ant foraging.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Active Inferants: An Active Inference Framework for Ant Colony Behavior

Friedman

Tschantz

Ramstead

et al. 2021

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

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In this paper, we introduce an active inference model of ant colony foraging behavior, and implement the model in a series of in silico experiments. Active inference is a multiscale approach to behavioral modeling that is being applied across settings in theoretical biology and ethology. The ant colony is a classic case system in the function of distributed systems in terms of stigmergic decision-making and information sharing. Here we specify and simulate a Markov decision process (MDP) model for ant colony foraging. We investigate a well-known paradigm from laboratory ant colony behavioral experiments, the alternating T-maze paradigm, to illustrate the ability of the model to recover basic colony phenomena such as trail formation after food location discovery. We conclude by outlining how the active inference ant colony foraging behavioral model can be extended and situated within a nested multiscale framework and systems approaches to biology more generally.

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The Antarium: A Reconstructed Visual Reality Device for Ant Navigation Research

Cited by 17 publications

References 71 publications

A high-speed, modular display system for diverse neuroscience applications

A high-speed, modular display system for diverse neuroscience applications

A five‐channel LED display to investigate UV perception

Active Inferants: An Active Inference Framework for Ant Colony Behavior

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