Simultaneous Localization of Biobotic Insects using Inertial Data and Encounter Information
- Resource Type
- Conference
- Authors
- Cole, Jeremy; Bozkurt, Alper; Lobaton, Edgar
- Source
- 2021 43rd Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society (EMBC) Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society (EMBC), 2021 43rd Annual International Conference of the IEEE. :4649-4653 Nov, 2021
- Subject
- Bioengineering
Location awareness
Surface reconstruction
Measurement units
Insects
Machine learning
Inertial navigation
Control systems
- Language
- ISSN
- 2694-0604
Several recent research efforts have shown that the bioelectrical stimulation of their neuro-mechanical system can control the locomotion of Madagascar hissing cockroaches (Gromphadorhina portentosa). This has opened the possibility of using these insects to explore centimeter-scale environments, such as rubble piles in urban disaster areas. We present an inertial navigation system based on machine learning modules that is capable of localizing groups of G. portentosa carrying thorax-mounted inertial measurement units. The proposed navigation system uses the agents’ encounters with one another as signals of opportunity to increase tracking accuracy. Results are shown for five agents that are operating on a planar (2D) surface in controlled laboratory conditions. Trajectory reconstruction accuracy is improved by 16% when we use encounter information for the agents, and up to 27% when we add a heuristic that corrects speed estimates via a search for an optimal speed-scaling factor.