Extraction of relative proximity from electrostatic images using Wide-Field Integration methods

Weakly electric fish use a self-generated electric field to interrogate the environment around them for obstacles, predators, and prey. These objects appear as spatial perturbations to an electric image formed by electro-receptors which are distributed over their bodies. The influence on an electric image, formed on a simulation model, due to the proximity of wide-field obstacles is derived here from standard principles of electrostatics. Wide-Field Integration (WFI) methods are then applied to perturbed electric images to extract relative position and orientation information, and a static output feedback methodology is presented to achieve local unmapped reflexive obstacle avoidance.