Reinforcement Learning as a Robotics-Inspired Framework for Insect Navigation: From Spatial Representations to Neural Implementation

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Lochner, Stephan, Honerkamp, Daniel, Valada, Abhinav, Straw, Andrew D.
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2024
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author Lochner, Stephan
Honerkamp, Daniel
Valada, Abhinav
Straw, Andrew D.
author_facet Lochner, Stephan
Honerkamp, Daniel
Valada, Abhinav
Straw, Andrew D.
contents Bees are among the master navigators of the insect world. Despite impressive advances in robot navigation research, the performance of these insects is still unrivaled by any artificial system in terms of training efficiency and generalization capabilities, particularly considering the limited computational capacity. On the other hand, computational principles underlying these extraordinary feats are still only partially understood. The theoretical framework of reinforcement learning (RL) provides an ideal focal point to bring the two fields together for mutual benefit. In particular, we analyze and compare representations of space in robot and insect navigation models through the lens of RL, as the efficiency of insect navigation is likely rooted in an efficient and robust internal representation, linking retinotopic (egocentric) visual input with the geometry of the environment. While RL has long been at the core of robot navigation research, current computational theories of insect navigation are not commonly formulated within this framework, but largely as an associative learning process implemented in the insect brain, especially in the mushroom body (MB). Here we propose specific hypothetical components of the MB circuit that would enable the implementation of a certain class of relatively simple RL algorithms, capable of integrating distinct components of a navigation task, reminiscent of hierarchical RL models used in robot navigation. We discuss how current models of insect and robot navigation are exploring representations beyond classical, complete map-like representations, with spatial information being embedded in the respective latent representations to varying degrees.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2406_01501
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Reinforcement Learning as a Robotics-Inspired Framework for Insect Navigation: From Spatial Representations to Neural Implementation
Lochner, Stephan
Honerkamp, Daniel
Valada, Abhinav
Straw, Andrew D.
Neurons and Cognition
Bees are among the master navigators of the insect world. Despite impressive advances in robot navigation research, the performance of these insects is still unrivaled by any artificial system in terms of training efficiency and generalization capabilities, particularly considering the limited computational capacity. On the other hand, computational principles underlying these extraordinary feats are still only partially understood. The theoretical framework of reinforcement learning (RL) provides an ideal focal point to bring the two fields together for mutual benefit. In particular, we analyze and compare representations of space in robot and insect navigation models through the lens of RL, as the efficiency of insect navigation is likely rooted in an efficient and robust internal representation, linking retinotopic (egocentric) visual input with the geometry of the environment. While RL has long been at the core of robot navigation research, current computational theories of insect navigation are not commonly formulated within this framework, but largely as an associative learning process implemented in the insect brain, especially in the mushroom body (MB). Here we propose specific hypothetical components of the MB circuit that would enable the implementation of a certain class of relatively simple RL algorithms, capable of integrating distinct components of a navigation task, reminiscent of hierarchical RL models used in robot navigation. We discuss how current models of insect and robot navigation are exploring representations beyond classical, complete map-like representations, with spatial information being embedded in the respective latent representations to varying degrees.
title Reinforcement Learning as a Robotics-Inspired Framework for Insect Navigation: From Spatial Representations to Neural Implementation
topic Neurons and Cognition
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.01501