Motion and Sensing in Electrosensory Systems

I have chosen electrosensory systems as a platform§to explore sensing and control in both artificial and§biological systems. In particular,§active electrolocation is investigated, where the§task is to estimate the location of a target using§measurements from a self-generated electric field.§The fundamentals of electrolocation are described§first with a finite-element numerical approximation§of the governing equations, and then simple models§are used to predict electrosensory observations.§Several belief maintenance schemes are employed to§fuse sensor data and explicitly account for§uncertainties in the position of the target. In the§biological realm, a protocol for simulating the§sensory acquisition and belief maintenance during§prey-capture behavior in the weakly electric fish was§developed. Using these simulations optimal sensing§was investigated, and results provide insight into§the interdependencies and co-evolution of sensing and§motion systems of the weakly electric fish. In the§artificial realm, an electrosensory robot capable of§actively locating underwater targets by measuring§perturbations in a self-generated electric field was§built.