Researchers Create Realistic Virtual Fruit Fly to Study Movement and Behavior
-
Researchers created a realistic virtual fruit fly by combining an anatomically accurate model, physics simulator, and AI trained on real fly behaviors.
-
The virtual fly can walk, fly, steer its flight using its eyes, and carry out complex trajectories like a real fly.
-
The physics simulator allows studying how fly movement and behaviors emerge from nervous system commands, body structure, and environmental interactions.
-
The team plans to make the fly model even more realistic by adding anatomical features, sensory systems, and real neural networks.
-
This pipeline enables creating virtual models for other animals to help understand the integrated nervous system, biomechanics, and behavior.