Emergence of Adaptive Searching Rules from the Dynamics of a Simple Nonlinear System

Abstract

Various organisms share certain basic rules for a searching behavior. We hypothesize that these rules may emerge from basic properties of nonlinear systems as a whole, rather then being evolved from a scratch gradually. In order to support this hypothesis, we have developed a virtual agent that consists of three simple nonlinear oscillators. These oscillators are driven by an internal noise, which results in phase transitions in their activity. External stimuli modify the activity via sensors and food consumption. The interaction among the activity of oscillators and external influences give rise to an emergence of searching rules that are similar to those shared by various organisms, thus favoring this hypothesis. The hypothesis can be verified further by investigating various types of nonlinear systems in different environments.

Order in Spontaneous Behavior

“…A critic may thus argue that the nonlinear signature we find in the fly behavior is merely a reflection of this already well-known property and not indicative of fine-tuned neural control systems. To test this hypothesis, we adapted a virtual agent (i.e., a computer model or automat ) [55] consisting of three coupled nonlinear generators for comparison with our fly raw data. The agent is intuitively very appealing on a number of levels.…”

“…S4b). Second, the original agent's search behavior is similar to a Lévy walk [55]. Third, the automat can be tuned so that its open-loop output shows a similar nonlinear signature as fly turning behavior (Fig.…”

“…What would such future models of brain (or agent) function look like? Nonlinear models displaying probabilistic behavior patterns can in principle be fairly simple [55]. The nonlinear mechanisms need still to be influenced by the environment both in a feed-forward form (the sensorimotor link) [7], [13], [14], [72] and by reafferent feedback control (Fig.…”

Models of Adaptive Behavior and Problem of Origin of Intelligence

“…Исследования по адаптивному поведению ведутся в ряде университетов и лабораторий, таких как: − AnimatLab (Париж, руководитель -один из инициаторов данного направления Жан-Аркадий Мейер) [8,13,25] В России исследования адаптивного поведения пока ведутся скромными усилиями ученых-энтузиастов, среди этих работ следует отметить: − модели поискового адаптивного поведения [11,12,36,37] Работы отечественных исследователей адаптивного поведения представлены в коллективной монографии [47].…”

Specialization and generalization of robot behaviour in swarm energy foraging

“…The persistence of individual behavioural acts has been instantiated in robots in various ways and has been proven to enhance agents' performance [17][18][19]. Interaction between persistence and spontaneity has been shown to be useful in control of odour gradient following in simple simulated agents [20]. To our knowledge, however, no attempt has been made to explore interaction between persistent and spontaneous behavioural sequences in robots which perform collective tasks.…”