A low-cost, computer-controlled robotic flower system for behavioral experiments.

ABSTRACT: Human observations during behavioral studies are expensive, time-consuming, and error prone. For this reason, automatization of experiments is highly desirable, as it reduces the risk of human errors and workload. The robotic system we developed is simple and cheap to build and handles feeding and data collection automatically. The system was built using mostly off-the-shelf components and has a novel feeding mechanism that uses servos to perform refill operations. We used the robotic system in two separate behavioral studies with bumblebees (Bombus terrestris): The system was used both for training of the bees and for the experimental data collection. The robotic system was reliable, with no flight in our studies failing due to a technical malfunction. The data recorded were easy to apply

SUBMITTER: Kuusela E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4798157 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature