NeuroMechFly – A digital twin of Drosophila

Scientists at EPFL have created a digital version of Drosophila, a fruit fly that simulates its movements in a realistic way. The twin is an important step in reverse engineering animal behavior and developing bioinspired robotics.

Professor Pavan Ramdya, School of Life Sciences at EPFL, says that they used two types of data in order to create NeuroMechFly. First, we scanned a real fly to create a biomechanical model that is morphologically accurate. Second, we used the actual limb movements from the fly. We obtained these data using pose estimation software developed by us in the past couple of years. This allows us to track movements accurately.\”

Ramdya’s group has collaborated with Professor Auke Ijspeert’s group at EPFL’s Biorobotics Laboratory to publish a paper entitled Nature Methods, which showcases the first accurate \”digital doppelganger\” of the flie Drosophila melanogaster. The paper is titled \”NeuroMechFly\”.

Source:
https://phys.org/news/2022-05-neuromechfly-digital-twin-drosophila.html