209564 Robots as models for behaving animals (S) (SoSe 2007)

Anyone who has to tried to swat a fly, watched a deer bounding through dense forest, marvelled at a falcon swooping to catch a field mouse knows that the animal kingdom has evolved behaviour that is fast, reliable and precise. In general, behaviour of animals con be viewed as the result of their sonsory and nervous systems interacting through motor output with the environment. Computational models of the neuronal circuitry underlaying behaviour are an important tool for neuroscientists to test experimentally established hypotheses of how these mechanisms might lead to behaviour. One method to thoroughly test the plausibility and sustainability of these models is to implement the modols in robots. Apart from being a source of inspiration to robot designers, such implementations can give important insights into the power of models coupling sensory signals to motor output. In this seminar we will discuss for several examples of animal behaviour how robot models can be used to test biological hypotheses. The models will be introduded in the context of the biological background. Behaviour controlled by different sensory modalities (visual, tactile of auditory) will be covered by the seminar as wll as multisensory binding, i.e., the integration of different information sources. The seminar will be held in English. Scientific papers will be introduced by a brief presentation by the students and intensively discussed. The seminar is primarily for Master Students and advanced Bachelor students in Biology, "Naturwissenschaftliche Informatik" as well as "Intelligente Systeme".