Live demonstration: Spiking neural circuit based navigation inspired by C. elegans thermotaxis

Abstract

We demonstrate a Spiking Neural Network (SNN) driven autonomous navigation system implemented on a robot. The neural architecture is inspired by those in nematode Caenorhabditis elegans used for thermotaxis, the behavior of tracking thermal isotherms. Our network uses light intensity as the sensor input, instead of temperature in the worm. The network is able to detect the gradations in sensor-input based on local information, and to make decisions in real time. This enables the robot to do a random search and to track specific intensity regions.