The ants use visual information about the location of the sun and the surrounding environment to determine the route of travel. Research shows that ants movements can help improve the navigation system for autonomous vehicles.
Anthony Weistratch, a researcher at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and a researcher at the National Center for Scientific Research in Paris, said: "We found that ants can separate the direction of movement and the direction of travel. Apart from the direction the body is heading now, if you want to go north, the ants can stay north and travel. "
Wistlatch says this makes the ant's little brain quite elaborate.
"The ants can be more sophisticated than we thought, and they can integrate information from other sources into the direction. This means information transfer and synergy between different brain areas. "
Barbara Webb, a researcher at the University of Edinburgh, said the study will help improve the navigation system for autonomous vehicles.
She said, "The ants have a very small brain. It is smaller than the hairpin head. Nevertheless, they do well in many difficult situations. The ants can even go back. "
"Understanding the behavior of the ants has given us new insights into brain function and made us come up with the idea of building a robotic system that mimics the ants' ability."
