The embodiment of cockroach aggregation behavior in a group of micro-robots.
We report the faithful reproduction of the self-organized aggregation behavior of the German cockroach Blattella germanica with a group of robots. We describe the implementation of the biological model provided by Jeanson et al. in Alice robots, and we compare the behaviors of the cockroaches and the robots using the same experimental and analytical methodology. We show that the aggregation behavior of the German cockroach was successfully transferred to the Alice robot despite strong differences between robots and animals at the perceptual, actuatorial, and computational levels. This article highlights some of the major constraints one may encounter during such a work and proposes general principles to ensure that the behavioral model is accurately transferred to the artificial agents.
Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, UMR 5169, Bât 4R3, Université Paul Sabatier-CNRS, 118 Route de Narbonne, Toulouse cedex 4, France. simon.garnier@cict.fr
Simon
S
Garnier
Christian
C
Jost
Jacques
J
Gautrais
Masoud
M
Asadpour
Gilles
G
Caprari
Raphaël
R
Jeanson
Anne
A
Grimal
Guy
G
Theraulaz
D000819:Animal Communication; D000818:Animals; D001185:Artificial Intelligence; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D020048:Blattellidae / Q000502:physiology*; D002138:Calibration; D003195:Computer Communication Networks / Q000295:instrumentation; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D008954:Models, Biological; D015233:Models, Statistical; D011336:Probability; D012371:Robotics / Q000379:methods*; D012984:Software; D013997:Time Factors