Locating Odor Sources in Turbulence with a Lobster Inspired Robot

Our lobster bio-mimic, “Robolobster” is designed to test chemical orientation strategies that real lobsters and other animals might use to locate odor sources such as food and mates. The size, speed and maneuverability of Robolobstcr compare to those of the real animal but no effort is made to model lobster biomechanics. Instead, our studies emphasize chemosensory processing at the temporal scale of lobsters navigating to odor sources under turbulent flow conditions. Robotic explorations of “standard” (i.e. statistically reproducible) turbulent odor plumes using simple orientation strategies have revealed two distinct plume regions: the “proximal jet”, where the orientation task is relatively easy and the “distal patch field” where simple algorithms have proven to be inadequate. Physical investigations of odor dispersal in turbulent plumes demonstrate that in the distal patch field a simple gradient ascent mechanism cannot reliably guide a robot to the source. This paper outlines our initial results and suggests alternative strategies the (Robo-) lobster might use in the distal patch field to navigate to the source.