Obstacle avoidance in aerial pursuit

Brighton, Caroline H.; Kempton, James A.; France, Lydia A; KleinHeerenbrink, Marco; Miñano, Sofía; Taylor, Graham K.

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2023.06.047

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The birds turned tightly around the near corner of the tunnel aperture, aiming at an entry point located at φ ≈ ±0.3 and hence approximately 0.1 m from the near side of the tunnel aperture. This behaviour left them with a clearance of approximately one wing length from the tunnel wall ( figure 3 a ), consistent with results from Harris’ hawks, which also aim for a clearance of approximately one wing length when steering around obstacles [ 19 ]. It follows that our observations do not support the hypothesis that zebra finches centre their flight by balancing the optic flow between their left and right visual hemispheres upon entering a tunnel.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

“…Several studies have modelled obstacle avoidance in birds and insects as a gap negotiation behaviour [11,[13][14][15], which means that rather than treating obstacles as repellers in a sense-and-avoid strategy, as is typically used in engineering contexts [19], the clearance between them is treated as an attractor [11,[13][14][15] in a sense-and-approach strategy. While the two treatments might be functionally equivalent under certain circumstances, they differ mechanistically-particularly in relation to the sensory cues that they may be expected to rely upon.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, the visual system that guides perching in budgerigars relies specifically on edge detection [ 17 ]. Likewise, Harris’ hawks Parabuteo unicinctus have been reported both to direct their gaze at the edges of obstacles they are avoiding [ 18 ] and to steer towards a clearance of approximately one wing length from an obstacle’s edge [ 19 ]. Nevertheless, in cluttered environments such as forests, there may be many edges to attend to, so it is reasonable to ask whether there are simpler heuristics that might also be used to guide flight.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Brightness cues affect gap negotiation behaviours in zebra finches flying between perches

Borsier,

Sanders,

Taylor

2024

R. Soc. Open Sci.

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Flying animals have had to evolve robust and effective guidance strategies for dealing with habitat clutter. Birds and insects use optic flow expansion cues to sense and avoid obstacles, but orchid bees have also been shown to use brightness cues during gap negotiation. Such brightness cues might therefore be of general importance in structuring visually guided flight behaviours. To test the hypothesis that brightness cues also affect gap negotiation behaviours in birds, we presented captive zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata with a symmetric or asymmetric background brightness distribution on the other side of a tunnel. The background brightness conditions influenced both the birds’ decision to enter the tunnel aperture, and their flight direction upon exit. Zebra finches were more likely to initiate flight through the tunnel if they could see a bright background through it; they were also more likely to fly to the bright side upon exiting. We found no evidence of the centring response that would be expected if optic flow cues were balanced bilaterally during gap negotiation. Instead, the birds entered the tunnel by targeting a clearance of approximately one wing length from its near edge. Brightness cues therefore affect how zebra finches structure their flight when negotiating gaps in enclosed environments.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Brightness cues affect gap negotiation behaviours in zebra finches flying between perches

Borsier,

Sanders,

Taylor

2024

R. Soc. Open Sci.

Self Cite

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Prospective control of steering through multiple waypoints

Jansen,

Fajen

2024

Journal of Vision

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Some locomotor tasks involve steering at high speeds through multiple waypoints within cluttered environments. Although in principle actors could treat each individual waypoint in isolation, skillful performance would seem to require them to adapt their trajectory to the most immediate waypoint in anticipation of subsequent waypoints. To date, there have been few studies of such behavior, and the evidence that does exist is inconclusive about whether steering is affected by multiple future waypoints. The present study was designed to address the need for a clearer understanding of how humans adapt their steering movements in anticipation of future goals. Subjects performed a simulated drone flying task in a forest-like virtual environment that was presented on a monitor while their eye movements were tracked. They were instructed to steer through a series of gates while the distance at which gates first became visible (i.e., lookahead distance) was manipulated between trials. When gates became visible at least 1-1/2 segments in advance, subjects successfully flew through a high percentage of gates, rarely collided with obstacles, and maintained a consistent speed. They also approached the most immediate gate in a way that depended on the angular position of the subsequent gate. However, when the lookahead distance was less than 1-1/2 segments, subjects followed longer paths and flew at slower, more variable speeds. The findings demonstrate that the control of steering through multiple waypoints does indeed depend on information from beyond the most immediate waypoint. Discussion focuses on the possible control strategies for steering through multiple waypoints.

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Obstacle avoidance in aerial pursuit

Cited by 2 publications

References 32 publications

Brightness cues affect gap negotiation behaviours in zebra finches flying between perches

Brightness cues affect gap negotiation behaviours in zebra finches flying between perches

Prospective control of steering through multiple waypoints

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