Search

Birds have a wide range of activities in the natural environment, and there are a lot of uncontrollable factors. Therefore, recording the neural signals and behavior data of birds in natural state transition is a major difficulty in the progress of neuroscience. At present, most neuroscience fields usually use wired EEG acquisition equipment, but due to its large size and heavy weight, it is not suitable for small animals, especially birds, to record neural and behavior data in natural state. In order to solve the above problems, we designed a wearable neuro-signal recording system in this study, which can synchronously record the neuro-signal and attitude data of birds in flight. The core processor of this system uses STM32 series high performance single-chip computer, and its peripheral components are described as follows: (1) 8-channel neural signal acquisition module based on AD1299; (2) GPS global positioning module; (3) Attitude measurement unit; (4) TF card storage module. The total weight of the system is about 20 g and the volume is about 27 mm x 25 mm x 15 mm. Finally, the neural signals and attitude data of the pigeons moving freely on the ground and in the sky were collected using the system we designed. The results showed that the system can not only stably record neural signals, attitude information and position information at the same time, but also does not affect their normal flight. The system has a good application prospect. Researchers can use it to record and analyze the neural signals of experimental animals, especially birds in free movement and even flight. Our work provides a portable and feasible experimental tool for further study of the neural mechanism of the brain in more complex environment.

This paper presents the theoretical development of a revised optimal control pilot model (ROCM) based the modified optimal control model (MOCM) of human operator developed by Davidson and Schmidt. An algorithm designed for easy implantation in current computer simulation and simulator fidelity analysis is presented. Example results based upon the analysis of a tracking task using a basic dynamics system is compared with the results of the ROCM and the results of the MOCM. The pilot frequency responses and root mean square obtained with the ROM are shown to more favorably to the measured experimental results than the MOCM in the pilot's frequency range of interest. The ROCM is not only consonant with the appropriate physical essence of the pilot, but also possess' the advantages of the MOCM.