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A robot-rodent interaction arena with adjustable spatial complexity for ethologically relevant behavioral studies

This webpage serves as a dedicated platform for the associated research paper, providing essential information and resources. Here, you will find comprehensive support materials, including experimental platform assembly instructions, figure code, and supplementary movies.

Zenodo archive with additional supplemental bating and peeking videos, data, and software

Code to generate figures

Figure code

Assembly instructions

Arena Assembly

Robot Assembly

Cellworld system software

Software as published

Current version of software

Supplementary Movies

SM1: Movie of the aversive airpuff sequence, termed ``attack’’ event, delivered by the airpuff module. Green timer in background to illustrate event duration.
SM2: Movie of FMM13 fleeing from the robot following an prey enters arena’’ experiment event is triggered and the robot begins autonomous motion. Cyan dot indicates the mouse’s location.
SM3: Movie of FMM16 during pilot study where mice first interacted with a pursuing robot with airpuff disabled for two sessions. This movie shows the mouse’s first experimental session with the puff enabled.
SM4: Movie of MMM16 during pilot study with airpuff disabled.
SM5: Movie showing an example of a stereotypical trajectory without the robot (T phase) and in the presence (first clip) and absence of obstacles (second clip).
SM6: Movie showing an example trajectory with the robot (R phase) in the presence and absence of obstacles. First clip: Movie of FMM10 during its seventh day of the R phase. The mouse’s first line of sight with the robot occurs at frame 590. Second clip: Movie of trial in the open field arena with the robot (R phase). The robot shown is not the robot used during the BotEvade task, it is an earlier iteration of the robot.
SM7: Movie of FMM9 during its first experiment session after the robot was removed (PR phase).
SM8: Hand-selected bait example.
SM9: Hand-selected peek example.
SM10: To determine the effect on the mouse of suddenly changing the robot’s behavior, this is a movie of a trial where the robot was turned off in the middle. In this trial, the mouse engages an extended sequence of peeks and reroutes as it surveys the now stationary robot.

Additional Movies

Hand-selected baiting trials: Baiting example 01, Baiting example 02, Baiting example 03,
Baiting example 04, Baiting example 05, Baiting example 06, Baiting example 07, Baiting example 08,
Baiting example 09, Baiting example 10

Hand-selected peeking trials: Peeking R example 01, Peeking R example 02, Peeking R example 03,
Peeking R example 04, Peeking R example 05, Peeking R example 06, Peeking R example 07,
Peeking R example 08, Peeking R example 09, Peeking R example 10, Peeking PR example 01,
Peeking PR example 02, Peeking PR example 03, Peeking PR example 04, Peeking PR example 05