Cross-Disciplinary Feasibility Account: CCNR, University of Sussex
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sussex
Department Name: Sch of Engineering and Informatics
Abstract
The research foci of this feasibility account will be at the interfaces between Biology, in particular Neuroscience, and Informatics and Engineering. These aim at new systems level understandings and the transfer of these understanding to bio-inspired technology, and to the development of new kinds of diagnostic tools for next-generation healthcare. Major themes, covered by a suite of feasibility studies, will be: The investigation of new tools and techniques for measuring, interpreting and modelling electrical activity in neuronal networks The investigation of the applicability of dynamical systems analyses to early diagnosis of cerebral palsy The investigation of the applicability to robotics of new models of biological sensing, learning and memory
Planned Impact
The results of the feasibility studies to be undertaken will be of wide interest to the following academic communities: neuroscience, sensor engineering, neuroinformatics, biophysics, complex systems, AI, robotics, bio-inspired computing, ecology, neuroethology, medicine. They will also be of significant interest to the healthcare sector and the following industrial sectors: ICT, robotics, pharmaceuticals, medical and scientific instrumentation, bioengineering. Aspects of the work will also be of interest to the general public. The work has the potential to: revolutionize the resolution and sensitivity of imaging of electrical activity in cultured neurons, and hence the whole field of neuroscience; point the way to radical new diagnostic tools and interventions for use in next generation healthcare; develop new ways of building much more accurate computational models of neurons that could be powerful tools in fundamental science and in applications such as drug screening; develop powerful new methods in autonomous mobile robotics based on new models and understandings of biological sensing, learning and memory; open up paths for new adaptive methods in computing; and provide radical new tools to ecologists to help e.g. illuminate questions about differences in behaviours between healthy and sick bees and how changes to the environment affect their navigational abilities. Early results will be disseminated via standard academic routes: high quality journal and conference papers and presentations. The direct involvement of medical practitioners and ecologists will ensure early engagement with these potential end users. Work will also be disseminated via our involvement in many special interest groups and knowledge transfer networks. Our many industrial contacts will be kept abreast of developments via an annual CCNR open day. The CCNR and CPEQT websites will provide a platform for easy general access to results of the feasibility studies. The research will also feed into the CCNR's active programme of public engagement activities. Aspects of the project will be suitable for wider popular dissemination across the spectrum of media, this will be achieved through the University's press office. Commercialisation possibilities will be discussed with Sussex IP and relevant industrial contacts and collaborators towards the end of the account.
Publications
Baddeley B
(2011)
Holistic visual encoding of ant-like routes: Navigation without waypoints
in Adaptive Behavior
Baddeley B
(2012)
A model of ant route navigation driven by scene familiarity.
in PLoS computational biology
Berthouze L
(2011)
Design and validation of surface-marker clusters for the quantification of joint rotations in general movements in early infancy.
in Journal of biomechanics
Bill Bigge
(2011)
The Elongation Catastrophe in Physical Self-Replicators.
Bush D
(2010)
Spike-timing dependent plasticity and the cognitive map.
in Frontiers in computational neuroscience
Bush D
(2010)
Dual coding with STDP in a spiking recurrent neural network model of the hippocampus.
in PLoS computational biology
McGregor S
(2012)
Evolution of associative learning in chemical networks.
in PLoS computational biology
Moioli RC
(2013)
Neuronal assembly dynamics in supervised and unsupervised learning scenarios.
in Neural computation
P. Vargas
(2014)
The Horizons of Evolutionary Robotics
Philippides A
(2011)
How might ants use panoramic views for route navigation?
in The Journal of experimental biology
| Description | The research foci of this feasibility account was at the interfaces between biology, in particular neuroscience, and Informatics and Engineering. The studies undertaken were aimed at new systems level understandings of biological systems and phenomena, and the transfer of these understanding to bio-inspired technology, and to the development of new kinds of diagnostic tools for next-generation healthcare. Major themes undertaken were: The investigation of new tools and techniques for measuring, interpreting and modelling electrical activity in neuronal networks. A novel form of electric potential sensors were built and tested on cultured biological neuronal networks. The feasibility of using near-infrared optical imaging (NIR) to detect localized neuronal activity in cultures of Lymnaea neurons mounted on a multi-electrode array was also investigated after building a specilaised NIR rig. In both cases promising initial results have been achieved. The third part of this theme involved acquiring preliminary data on a radical new proposed indirect measurement technology to build accurate neuron models by comparing the model with the relevant biological neuron in real time (the dynamic observer technique) . The core concept was to combine online parameter estimation ("fitting") with dynamic clamp technology (the coupling of computer models to living neurons). Very prominsing initial results have been achieved with the method. The investigation of the applicability of dynamical systems analyses to early diagnosis of cerebral palsy. This study tested the feasibility of this idea by attempting to produce a dynamical systems analysis of motor activity in developing infants. After recording the movement and muscle activity from typically developing (healthy) infants aged 2-4 months, dynamical system analysis was used for the identification and formalisation of intra- and inter-limb synergies and rotational elements; and the identification of control parameters and juncture points by bifurcation analysis. This study has provided a proof of principle for the approach which will be further developed in future work. The investigation of the applicability to robotics of new models of biological sensing and associative memory. In this study a prototype (recurrent, spiking) neural network model was developed incorporating a novel form of plasticity (involving local competition for neural resources) based on recent findings in mammalian (hippocampal) neurobiology. This efficacy of this system in navigation was demonstrated. This theme also involved a study to assess the potential of using novel models of Page 6 of 9 Date Saved: 29/07/2011 10:03:09 Date Printed: 29/07/2011 10:04:14 Add web address : insect olfaction mechanisms to develop much faster and more accurate chemical discrimination than is currently possible, paving the way for practical olfactory robot applications. The feasibility of using metal oxide 'smell' sensors was tested on a gantry robot by mapping out their sensitivity in space and time. It was discovered that currently commercially available sensors react too slowly to make them useful in most practical applications. The study allowed us to develop requirements for an 'ideal' sensor for this application. The development of tools and methods to shed light on mechanisms underlying insect navigation, including the development of navigation algorithms using minimal resources. New methods and tools were applied to aquiring data on the sensory information used by insects during navigation. This led to the developemnt of successful navigation algorithms using very minimal sensory and computational resources which were demonstrated on a robot. The exploration of physical models of replicating molecules as a new tool for understanding evolutionary processes. By building a real physical model of template replication we were able to suggest new possible answers to the vexing question of how complex template replication could have arisen in nature. |
| Exploitation Route | This work can lead to new forms of robot navigation algorithms, new ways of exploiting understandings of biological olfaction in artificial applications, new approaches to the early diagnosis of cerebral palsy and novel ways of imaging brain data. |
| Sectors | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| Description | The development of tools and methods to shed light on mechanisms underlying insect navigation, including the development of navigation algorithms using minimal resources. New methods and tools were applied to aquiring data on the sensory information used by insects during navigation. This led to the developemnt of successful navigation algorithms using very minimal sensory and computational resources which were demonstrated on a robot. The exploration of physical models of replicating molecules as a new tool for understanding evolutionary processes was introduced. By building a real physical model of template replication we were able to suggest new possible answers to the vexing question of how complex template replication could have arisen in nature. This has inspired new research on that question. The investigation of the applicability to robotics of new models of biological sensing and associative memory led to a prototype (recurrent, spiking) neural network model incorporating a novel form of plasticity (involving local competition for neural resources) based on recent findings in mammalian (hippocampal) neurobiology. This efficacy of this system in navigation was demonstrated and has led to further developments in that area. This theme also involved a study to assess the potential of using novel models of insect olfaction mechanisms to develop much faster and more accurate chemical discrimination than is currently possible, paving the way for practical olfactory robot applications. The feasibility of using metal oxide 'smell' sensors was tested on a gantry robot by mapping out their sensitivity in space and time. It was discovered that currently commercially available sensors react too slowly to make them useful in most practical applications. The study allowed us to develop requirements for an 'ideal' sensor for this application which has led to new research to develop more practical approaches. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2012 |
| Sector | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic |
| Description | EPSRC research grant |
| Amount | £102,329 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/I031758/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2011 |
| End | 04/2013 |
| Description | EU ICT FET FP7 |
| Amount | € 492,970 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 308943 |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | 03/2013 |
| End | 09/2016 |