Temporal statistics of natural image sequences generated by movements with insect flight characteristics.

Many flying insects, such as flies, wasps and bees, pursue a saccadic flight and gaze strategy. This behavioral strategy is thought to separate the translational and rotational components of self-motion and, thereby, to reduce the computational efforts to extract information about the environment fr...

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Main Authors: Alexander Schwegmann, Jens Peter Lindemann, Martin Egelhaaf
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2014-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4207754?pdf=render
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author Alexander Schwegmann
Jens Peter Lindemann
Martin Egelhaaf
author_facet Alexander Schwegmann
Jens Peter Lindemann
Martin Egelhaaf
author_sort Alexander Schwegmann
collection DOAJ
description Many flying insects, such as flies, wasps and bees, pursue a saccadic flight and gaze strategy. This behavioral strategy is thought to separate the translational and rotational components of self-motion and, thereby, to reduce the computational efforts to extract information about the environment from the retinal image flow. Because of the distinguishing dynamic features of this active flight and gaze strategy of insects, the present study analyzes systematically the spatiotemporal statistics of image sequences generated during saccades and intersaccadic intervals in cluttered natural environments. We show that, in general, rotational movements with saccade-like dynamics elicit fluctuations and overall changes in brightness, contrast and spatial frequency of up to two orders of magnitude larger than translational movements at velocities that are characteristic of insects. Distinct changes in image parameters during translations are only caused by nearby objects. Image analysis based on larger patches in the visual field reveals smaller fluctuations in brightness and spatial frequency composition compared to small patches. The temporal structure and extent of these changes in image parameters define the temporal constraints imposed on signal processing performed by the insect visual system under behavioral conditions in natural environments.
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spelling doaj.art-65ee24fc980f49debb23ec2d2bda86e62022-12-22T03:56:50ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032014-01-01910e11038610.1371/journal.pone.0110386Temporal statistics of natural image sequences generated by movements with insect flight characteristics.Alexander SchwegmannJens Peter LindemannMartin EgelhaafMany flying insects, such as flies, wasps and bees, pursue a saccadic flight and gaze strategy. This behavioral strategy is thought to separate the translational and rotational components of self-motion and, thereby, to reduce the computational efforts to extract information about the environment from the retinal image flow. Because of the distinguishing dynamic features of this active flight and gaze strategy of insects, the present study analyzes systematically the spatiotemporal statistics of image sequences generated during saccades and intersaccadic intervals in cluttered natural environments. We show that, in general, rotational movements with saccade-like dynamics elicit fluctuations and overall changes in brightness, contrast and spatial frequency of up to two orders of magnitude larger than translational movements at velocities that are characteristic of insects. Distinct changes in image parameters during translations are only caused by nearby objects. Image analysis based on larger patches in the visual field reveals smaller fluctuations in brightness and spatial frequency composition compared to small patches. The temporal structure and extent of these changes in image parameters define the temporal constraints imposed on signal processing performed by the insect visual system under behavioral conditions in natural environments.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4207754?pdf=render
spellingShingle Alexander Schwegmann
Jens Peter Lindemann
Martin Egelhaaf
Temporal statistics of natural image sequences generated by movements with insect flight characteristics.
PLoS ONE
title Temporal statistics of natural image sequences generated by movements with insect flight characteristics.
title_full Temporal statistics of natural image sequences generated by movements with insect flight characteristics.
title_fullStr Temporal statistics of natural image sequences generated by movements with insect flight characteristics.
title_full_unstemmed Temporal statistics of natural image sequences generated by movements with insect flight characteristics.
title_short Temporal statistics of natural image sequences generated by movements with insect flight characteristics.
title_sort temporal statistics of natural image sequences generated by movements with insect flight characteristics
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4207754?pdf=render
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AT martinegelhaaf temporalstatisticsofnaturalimagesequencesgeneratedbymovementswithinsectflightcharacteristics