Open-source computational simulation of moth-inspired navigation algorithm: A benchmark framework

Yiftach Golov; Noam Benelli; Roi Gurka; Ally Harari; Gregory Zilman; Alex Liberzon

doi:10.1016/j.mex.2021.101529

Open-source computational simulation of moth-inspired navigation algorithm: A benchmark framework

MethodsX. 2021 Sep 27:8:101529. doi: 10.1016/j.mex.2021.101529. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Yiftach Golov^{1

2}, Noam Benelli³, Roi Gurka⁴, Ally Harari², Gregory Zilman³, Alex Liberzon³

Affiliations

¹ Porter School of Environment and Earth Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
² Department of Entomology, The Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, Israel.
³ School of Mechanical Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
⁴ Department Physics and Engineering Science, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC, USA.

Abstract

Olfactory navigation is defined as a task of a self-propelled navigator with some sensors capabilities to detect odor (or scalar concentration) convected and diffused in a windy environment. Known for their expertise in locating an odor source, male moths feature a bio-inspirational model of olfactory navigation using chemosensory. Many studies have developed moths-inspired algorithms based on proposed strategies of odor-sourcing. However, comparing among various bio-inspired strategies is challenging, due to the lack of a componential framework that allows statistical comparison of their performances, in a controlled environment. This work aims at closing this gap, using an open source, freely accessible simulation framework. To demonstrate the applicability of our simulated framework as a benchmarking tool, we implemented two different moth-inspired navigation strategies; for each strategy, specific modifications in the navigation module were carried out, resulting in four different navigation models. We tested the performance of moth-like navigators of these models through various wind and odor spread parameters in a virtual turbulent environment. The performance of the navigators was comprehensively analyzed using bio-statistical tests. This benchmark-ready simulation framework could be useful for the biology-oriented, as well as engineering-oriented studies, assisting in deducing the evolutionary efficient strategies and improving self-propelled autonomous systems in complex environments.•The open-source framework `Mothpy' provides a computational platform that simulates the behavior of moth-like navigators, using two main inputs to be modified by the user: (1) flow condition; and (2) navigation strategy.•`Mothpy' can be used as a benchmarking platform to compare the performance of multiple moth-like navigators, under various physical environments, and different searching strategies.•Method name: Mothpy 0.0.1' - an open-source moth-inspired navigator simulator.

Keywords: Bio-inspiration; Moths; Navigation strategies; Odor localization; Simulation framework.