Emulating grid cell spatial cognition in an FPGA

This paper presents a unique neurobiological inspired architecture for mobile robot environment mapping. The target of this mapping architecture is not to create a new mapping system that out performs current state of the art systems. It, however, is an attempt to develop a cognitive map that is based on the grid cell, which is found in the brain (entorhinal cortex) of rodents and other mammals, and is used for spatial cognition in navigation. The hexagonal lattice firing locations of a single grid cell will be emulated in a field programmable gate array silicon chip as individual logic and data storage firing nodes, as well as a central grid cell node. The firing nodes will be used for mapping and will work in parallel to actively aid in route planning. Thus, creating some level of spatial awareness in silicon.