Interactive robotic experiments to assess the spatial logic of electric signalling in a gymnotiform knifefish
Fachbereich Mathematik und Informatik
Institut für Informatik (WE03)
Dahlem Center for Machine Learning and Robotics
Gefördert von der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft unter Projektnummer 577401533
Studying animal communication is essential for understanding the inner workings of animal brains, the evolution of language, and even the cognitive foundations of our own abstract thinking. A major challenge in studying animal communication lies in identifying the content of exchanged information. Often, meaning can be inferred by simplifying behavioral contexts, isolating and analyzing the signals emitted, and linking them to likely - but hypothetical - cognitive processes. Even when such correlations are robust, we can never truly know what animals are “saying” to each other, making causal relationships persistently elusive. Most of the time, the best we can do is to infer intentionality within sender-receiver relationships - an essential step, but one that still leaves the underlying mechanisms of communication largely speculative.
Electric fish represent a compelling exception. Unlike semiochemicals, facial expressions or vocal modulations of other animals - their electric signals (electric organ discharges or EODs) provide a direct and easily quantifiable window into their sensory world, maintaining a clear reference to behavioral value and sender identity (Crampton, 2019). Signal structure and timing can be mapped on the array of electroreceptors on the body surface and tracked in real time (MacIver et al., 2001; Babineau et al., 2006; Pedraja and Sawtell, 2024; Bazeille et al., 2017; Wallach and Sawtell, 2023), making the electrosensory system an ideal model for dissecting the fundamental principles of communication.