Closed loop heading control in the tobacco hawkmoth, Manduca sexta

The study of Tobacco hawkmoths, Manduca sexta, with respect to the relationships between muscle activation and flight response has progressed to a point that closed loop heading control is possible on the live, tethered animals. We present a method of control through stimulation of the dorsoventral muscle (DVM) groups that are responsible for the upward motion of the wings. An experimental setup allowing for only yaw in flying moths was developed. A 10% duty cycle square wave input was used to stimulate the DVM on the side of the moth inboard of the desired turn. Both continuous and discontinuous signals were used and the results suggest that the moth is able to compensate for consistent input stimulation.