Visual control of flight speed and height in the honeybee

Emily Baird*, Mandyam V. Srinivasan, Shaowu Zhang, Richard Lamont, Ann Cowling

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

    66 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The properties of visually guided flight speed and height control were investigated by training honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) to fly through a tunnel in which the visual cues in the lateral and ventral visual fields could be varied by changing the patterns on the walls and floor of the tunnel. The results show that honeybees regulate their flight speed by keeping the velocity of the image of the environment in their eye constant. The results also show that honeybees use visual information from the ground to control their height above the ground. The findings of this study reveal that the mechanisms of flight speed and height control in the honeybee are perfectly adapted for extracting information from a complex visual environment using simple sensors and computations. Consequently, the techniques of visual guidance that are reported here suggest insect-inspired strategies for the control of aircraft flight.

    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publication9th International Conference on Simulation of Adaptive Behavior, SAB 2006, Proceedings
    PublisherSpringer Verlag
    Pages40-51
    Number of pages12
    ISBN (Print)3540386084, 9783540386087
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2006
    Event9th International Conference on Simulation of Adaptive Behavior, SAB 2006 - Rome, Italy
    Duration: 25 Sept 200629 Sept 2006

    Publication series

    NameLecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
    Volume4095 LNAI
    ISSN (Print)0302-9743
    ISSN (Electronic)1611-3349

    Conference

    Conference9th International Conference on Simulation of Adaptive Behavior, SAB 2006
    Country/TerritoryItaly
    CityRome
    Period25/09/0629/09/06

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