This document discusses using robotic lures to control animal groups. It notes that traditional lures are not adaptive and do not interact together. Research has shown it is possible to interact with animals using designed artifacts that mimic simple signals. The document proposes developing mixed societies of social animals and robots that can interact and make collective decisions. As a case study, it describes an experiment where cockroaches and robots collectively selected shelters, demonstrating shared and controlled group choice between biological and artificial agents.

1. Sempo Grégory
Unit of Social Ecology, ULB
gsempo@ulb.ac.be
©Philippe PLAILLY / EURELIOS
Control of animal groups with robotic lures

2. Lures
The use of lures is very old in the history of interactions
between humans and animals.
 These lures are often the result of a tradition, obtained by
“trials and errors”.
 Most of the time, previous studies of animal behavior (isolated
or in groups) leading to formal models are lacking.
 Moreover, these lures do not interact together and do not
have any adaptive capability.

3. Lures
At the individual level, behavioral sciences have shown that:
 animal interactions could be rather “simple” signals;
 it is possible to interact with animals by making
specifically designed artifacts.
No interaction
Michelsen et al. (BES, 1992)
Patricelli et al. (Nature, 2002)
The artificial agent is passive (does not respond to the animal)
→the loop is not closed

4. The loop is not closed
FEMBOT GROUSE (G. Patricielli, behav. Ecol 2010)
ROBOFISH (J. Krauze, BES 2010)
Robotic squirrel (M.A. Barbour, Proc Royal Soc B 2012)

5. Lures
At the individual level, behavioral sciences have shown that:
 animal interactions could be rather “simple” signals;
 it is possible to interact with animals by making
specifically designed artifacts.
Vaughan (SAB, 1998)
No interaction
Interaction
Not a « congener »
Michelsen et al. (BES, 1992)
Patricelli et al. (Nature, 2002)
Ishii, Robotica 2013
Review: Knight, J. Nature (2005).

6. Cyborgs
ROBOT ROACH (Bozkurt, IEEE 2012)
ROBOT BEETLE
(Maharbiz, DARPA)
REMOTE CONTROLLED RAT (S. Talwar, Nature 2002)

7. Mixed societies (natural and artificial agents)
 develop mixed-societies composed of social animals
and artificial agents (robots) that interact and share
collective decision.
Case study: shelter selection by cockroaches and robots

8. Implementation : external view
2 Photodiodes
⇒ Shelter detection
Linear Camera
⇒ Cockroach detection
12 IR Proximity Sensors
⇒ Cockroach detection
⇒ Wall detection
⇒ Robot detection

9. Tracking tool: analysis of individual behaviour
Swistrack software
RFID
(Correll N. et al., 2006)
Project leader: D. Fresneau

10. Collective choices in mixed societies
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11. Experimental demonstration (different shelters)
12 cockroaches & 4 robots
Collective selection of the light shelter
Light
Dark
(Halloy et al. 2007, Science)

12. Summary
 Existence of shared and controlled collective choice between machines
and animals
 Implementation of active chemical communication between robots &
animals
 Both machines insects are able, independently of each other, to perform such
collective decision.

13. Partners
•Unit of Social Ecology (USE)
•International Solvay Institutes for Physics and Chemistry
•Autonomous Systems Laboratory (ASL1)
•Ethologie-Evolution-Ecologie (EVE)
•Swarm-intelligent Systems Group (SWIS)
•Laboratoire d'Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée (LEEC)
•FNRS