2014 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
A closed-loop system to investigate visual flight behaviour
| Project/Area Number |
26650116
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| Research Institution | The Graduate University for Advanced Studies |
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Principal Investigator |
スチュワート フィンレイ 総合研究大学院大学, その他の研究科, 助教 (40635893)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
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| Keywords | butterfly / vision / motion / flight / virtual reality / parallax / colour |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
I have successfully implemented a closed-loop system capable of tracking the flight of a butterfly in real time (~50ms latency) and using this information to display virtual reality stimuli on a monitor on the arena floor. I have used this set-up to investigate the roles of visual expansion and parallax in target approach behaviour during foraging. I found that Papilio apparently use parallax cues to judge distance; they are slower to initiate approaches to virtual targets that appear to be positioned deep below the monitor surface. However, the kinematic properties (i.e. speed, steepness, etc.) of their descents appear not to depend on the apparent distance of the target, but rather are consistent with them simply targeting the target edge in 2D retinal space. I have written an article detailing these findings, which has recently been accepted for publication in the Journal of Experimental Biology.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
1: Research has progressed more than it was originally planned.
Reason
The closed-loop free-flight system has been set up (using a conventional monitor for stimulus presentation) and has already yielded valuable data on the role of visual motion in distance estimation and target approach behaviour, which I have been able to publish.
I have acquired a pair of DLP projectors, one of which has been modified to display UV and violet light. I am ready to start performing experiments using this pentachromatic stimulus display system.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
I plan to start experiments using the pentachromatic display very soon. Initially I intend to investigate colour contrast / induced colour, i.e. the phenomenon whereby an animal's perception of a target's colour is altered by the colour of the background. While this process is well understood for trichromatic colour systems such as that of humans, it is still unclear how it applies to tetrachromatic colour perception in any animal. Thus, I believe it is an interesting and worthwhile question, which the fine stimulus control offered by my pentachromatic rig will give me an unprecedented opportunity to investigate.
Depending on the outcome of that study, I hope to go on to look at the role of chromatic contrast in motion vision using the pentachromatic closed-loop system. This would complement and extend another project of mine already underway, investigating this issue in tethered animals using a simple RGB display. Alternatively or additionally, I shall turn my attention to the methodological challenge of automatically estimating the animal's pose and orientation in flight.
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| Causes of Carryover |
I was able to acquire the UV / violet DLP projector for a considerably lower price than anticipated. Because only near-UV is required, I was able to find a supplier that would modify the light engine of a standard projector, rather than having to purchase a dedicated UV-capable system, which is a highly specialised (and thus expensive) item. As well as being cheaper, this offers the benefit of having standardised optical hardware across both projectors, and allowing the same software interface to be used.
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| Expenditure Plan for Carryover Budget |
I am about to commence experiments with the pentachromatic projection system. If it is the case that the output of the modified projector is too weak in the near-UV range, then I shall revert to the original plan of purchasing a fully UV-capable projector. If this is not required, then I intend to use the funds for international travel, for the purpose of discussion with other scientists working on virtual reality systems for insects. Additionally, the 2016 International Congress of Neuroethology will fall within the 2015/16 financial year, and is to be held in Uruguay, a rather expensive destination, so I intend to use these funds to attend this important meeting.
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Research Products
(6 results)
