An automatic reward device based on task drive

Abstract

The present invention discloses an automatic reward device based on task drive, comprising: a driving motor, a mechanical arm and a mechanical claw; the driving motor is used to determine the driving time and driving force according to a control signal; the mechanical arm is connected to the mechanical claw, and the mechanical arm is used to drive the mechanical claw to move toward the mouth of a non-human primate to be tested fixed on a non-human primate experimental platform with the driving force within the driving time according to the driving of the driving motor; the mechanical claw is used to grasp the reward food, and control the grasping or releasing of the reward food according to the control signal to control the reward for the non-human primate to be tested. The present invention discloses an automatic reward device based on task drive, which can drive non-human primates to complete experimental actions that meet the standards, eliminate human subjective factors, and improve the accuracy of experimental data.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present invention relate to biomedical technology, and in particular to an automatic reward device based on task drive. Background Art

[0002] The human brain is the central nervous system core that controls various human activities. Many diseases in the human body are caused by lesions in the brain. Research on the human brain helps in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of many diseases.

[0003] However, due to the complex structure of the human brain and its location inside the human body, it is difficult to study the brain directly, and the brain can only be tested through other means. However, if we want to accurately analyze the correspondence between the brain and various diseases in the human body, we choose to conduct experiments directly on living bodies, which is obviously not realistic.

[0004] Non-human primates are the animals that are most similar to humans, especially the brains of non-human primates, which are very similar to the human brain. Therefore, non-human primates are currently mainly used as experimental subjects for brain research. However, non-human primates are active and difficult to tame by nature, and it is difficult to drive non-human primates to complete the actions required for the experiment. Currently, the main method used to encourage non-human primates to complete the actions required for the experiment is to provide them with food rewards. However, the method of relying on artificial feeding rewards is less efficient and has certain subjective human factors. It is also difficult to drive non-human primates to truly meet the experimental specifications to complete repeated experiments, which may affect the accuracy of the experimental data. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present invention provides an automatic reward device based on task drive, which can drive non-human primates to complete repetitive experiments that meet standards, avoid interference from human subjective factors, and improve the accuracy of experimental data.

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an automatic reward device based on task drive, comprising: a driving motor, a mechanical arm and a mechanical claw;

[0007] The driving motor is used to determine the driving time and driving force according to the control signal;

[0008] The mechanical arm is connected to the mechanical claw, and the mechanical arm is used to drive the mechanical claw to move toward the mouth of the non-human primate to be tested fixed on the non-human primate experimental platform with a driving force within a driving time according to the driving of the driving motor;

[0009] The mechanical gripper is used to grasp the reward food, and controls the grasping or releasing of the reward food according to the control signal to control the reward for the non-human primate to be tested.

[0010] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the drive motor is a stepping motor.

[0011] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the stepper motor is used to determine a rotation angle and a speed according to a control signal.

[0012] In a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the mechanical claw is a hand-shaped structure.

[0013] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the robotic arm includes a sliding track, and the robotic claw is connected to the robotic arm via a sliding block disposed above the sliding track.

[0014] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the robotic arm includes a ruler, and the ruler is arranged along the moving direction of the robotic claw.

[0015] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the mechanical claw is used to release the reward food after the driving motor drives the mechanical arm to move the mechanical claw to a preset end position.

[0016] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the driving motor is used to control the robot arm to move to an initial position when no control signal is received within a preset time;

[0017] The drive motor is also used to control the robotic arm to move toward the mouth of the non-human primate in a preset forward mode when a control signal is received within a preset time; the larger the control signal, the faster the forward speed of the robotic arm driven by the drive motor; when the control signal reaches a threshold, the drive motor drives the robotic arm to move to a preset critical position.

[0018] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the drive motor is used to drive the robotic arm to drive the robotic claw to move to a preset critical position after determining that the control signal reaches a preset threshold, and after the control signal reaches the preset threshold and reaches a preset duration, the drive robotic arm drives the robotic claw from the critical position to the preset end position and releases the reward food; the larger the control signal value, the shorter the required duration.

[0019] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the driving motor is used to drive the robotic arm to drive the robotic claw to move to a preset critical position after determining that the control signal reaches a preset threshold, but when the control signal reaches the preset threshold but does not reach a preset duration, the driving robotic claw does not move the reward food to the preset end position.

[0020] An automatic reward device based on task drive provided by an embodiment of the present invention includes: a driving motor, a mechanical arm and a mechanical claw; the driving motor is used to determine the driving time and driving force according to a control signal; the mechanical arm is connected to the mechanical claw, and the mechanical arm is used to drive the mechanical claw to move to the mouth of a non-human primate to be tested fixed on a non-human primate experimental platform with driving force within the driving time according to the driving of the driving motor; the mechanical claw is used to grasp reward food, and control the grasping or releasing of reward food according to the control signal to control the reward for the non-human primate to be tested. The embodiment of the present invention uses non-human primates to conduct behavioral experiments to obtain data, and in turn instantly controls the reward for driving non-human primates to conduct behavioral experiments, thereby realizing automatic reward for non-human primate behavioral experiments, thereby driving non-human primates to complete repetitive experiments that meet standards, avoiding interference from human subjective factors, and improving the accuracy of experimental data. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 A structural diagram of a first embodiment of a task-driven automatic reward device provided in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It is to be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention, rather than to limit the present invention. It should also be noted that, for ease of description, only parts related to the present invention, rather than all structures, are shown in the accompanying drawings.

[0023] Figure 1 A structural diagram of a task-driven automatic reward device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. Figure 1 As shown, the experimental reward device provided in this embodiment includes: a driving motor 11, a mechanical arm 12 and a mechanical claw 13.

[0024] Since non-human primates are active and difficult to tame, it is difficult to drive them to complete the actions required for the experiment. Currently, the main method used is to provide food rewards to non-human primates to encourage them to complete the actions required for the experiment. However, the method of artificial feeding rewards is inefficient and has certain subjective factors. It is also difficult to drive non-human primates to truly meet the experimental specifications to complete repeated experiments, which may affect the accuracy of the experimental data.

[0025] Therefore, this embodiment provides an automatic reward device based on task-driven, which can realize automatic reward for non-human primates.

[0026] The driving motor 11 is used to determine the driving time and driving force according to the control signal. The mechanical arm 12 is connected to the mechanical claw 13. The mechanical arm 12 is used to drive the mechanical claw 13 to move toward the mouth of the non-human primate to be tested fixed on the non-human primate experimental platform with the driving force within the driving time according to the driving of the driving motor 11. The mechanical claw 13 is used to grasp the reward food, and control the grasping or releasing of the reward food according to the control signal to control the reward of the non-human primate to be tested.

[0027] In order to ensure the accuracy of the experimental behavior detection of non-human primates, the automatic reward device based on task drive needs to execute the reward only after the non-human primate to be tested correctly performs the required behavior. The control signal that triggers the action of the automatic reward device based on task drive is generated by the action performed by the non-human primate. When the action performed by the non-human primate to be tested occurs, the control signal is also generated immediately, and the drive motor 11 also immediately drives the mechanical arm 12 to drive the mechanical claw 13 to move. When the action performed by the non-human primate to be tested meets the experimental requirements, the generated control signal will be sufficient to drive the motor 11 to make the mechanical arm 12 drive the mechanical claw 13 to move to the mouth of the non-human primate to be tested fixed on the non-human primate experimental platform, and the control signal can also drive the mechanical claw 13 holding the reward food to release the reward food to reward the non-human primate to be tested.

[0028] Since non-human primates are relatively active, if the mechanical claw 13 grasps the reward food and moves it directly to the mouth of the non-human primate to be tested, the non-human primate to be tested may use its mouth to snatch the food before the mechanical claw releases the reward food, which may cause the mouth of the non-human primate to be tested to be injured, and the expected experimental effect may not be achieved. Therefore, when the mechanical claw 13 moves to the mouth of the non-human primate to be tested, it needs to be located at a certain distance above the mouth of the non-human primate to be tested, so as to prevent the non-human primate to be tested from using its mouth to snatch the reward food grasped by the mechanical claw 13.

[0029] Since the non-human primate to be tested is fixed at a fixed position on the non-human primate experimental platform, the drive motor 11 can be a stepper motor, that is, the drive motor 11 can drive the mechanical arm 12 to move at several fixed positions according to different control signals. When the drive motor 11 is a stepper motor, the stepper motor is used to determine the rotation angle and speed according to the control signal. The better the action completion of the non-human primate to be tested, the stronger the control signal strength, and the higher the corresponding rotation angle and speed of the drive motor 11.

[0030] Furthermore, in order to better grasp the reward food, the mechanical claw 13 can be a hand-shaped structure.

[0031] In addition, the mechanical claw 13 can also be other structures. For example, the mechanical claw 13 includes two semicircular structures made of transparent material. When the mechanical claw 13 grasps the reward food, the two semicircular structures are combined to contain the reward food in the circle formed by the two semicircular structures. When the mechanical claw 13 reaches a preset position, or reaches a preset position or duration, the two semicircular structures are separated to release the reward food.

[0032] The mechanical arm 13 may include a sliding track 14, and the mechanical claw 13 is connected to the mechanical arm 12 via a sliding block 15 disposed above the sliding track 14. The driving motor 11 actually drives the sliding block 15 to slide in the sliding track 14.

[0033] Furthermore, the mechanical arm 12 may also include a scale 16, which is arranged along the moving direction of the mechanical claw 13. The scale 16 is arranged on the mechanical arm 12, so that the experimenter can monitor the experimental process of the non-human primate. Even if the action performed by the non-human primate to be tested is to achieve the force or time required to provide reward food, the experimental conditions of the non-human primate to be tested in different states can be determined by observing the corresponding relationship between the mechanical claw 13 and the scale 16 on the mechanical arm 12.

[0034] The mechanical claw is used to release the reward food after the driving motor drives the mechanical arm to move the mechanical claw to a preset end position.

[0035] Furthermore, the mechanical claw 13 is used to drive the mechanical arm 12 to move the mechanical claw 13 to a preset critical position, but not after a preset time. The mechanical claw 13 does not advance to a preset end position and release the reward food, but needs to reach the preset critical position and continue for a preset time before advancing to the end position and releasing the reward food. This can avoid the occurrence of false reward events triggered by the non-human primate to be detected misoperating and failing to correctly perform the required experimental actions.

[0036] Furthermore, the drive motor 11 is also used to control the mechanical arm 12 to be located at the initial position when no control signal is received within a preset time. When the drive motor 11 does not receive a control signal within a certain preset time, it means that the non-human primate to be tested has not performed the experimental action. At this time, the drive motor 11 does not detect any signal strength, and the drive mechanical arm 12 does not move. When the non-human primate to be tested begins to conduct behavioral experiments and a certain degree of action completion occurs, the drive motor 11 receives the corresponding signal strength, and drives the mechanical arm 12 with the mechanical claw 13 to approach the non-human primate to be tested according to the strength of the signal. When the signal strength does not reach the threshold, the drive motor 11 cannot drive the mechanical arm 12 with the mechanical claw 13 to reach the preset critical position, and the action completion of the non-human primate to be tested becomes lower and lower or becomes non-existent, and the corresponding control signal weakens or disappears accordingly, and the mechanical arm 12 will retreat or even reset to the initial position. That is, only when the non-human primate to be tested performs a complete action required for the experiment and maintains it within the preset time, the drive motor 11 will drive the mechanical arm 12 with the mechanical claw 13 to the preset end position and reward it. Furthermore, when the non-human primate to be tested completes the experiment better, that is, the larger the control signal value, the shorter the required duration, which can motivate the non-human primate to pull out the maximum limit. In addition, when an experimental action is completed, the mechanical arm 12 moves to the initial position for reset before the next round of experiments can begin.

[0037] The present embodiment provides an automatic reward device based on task drive, comprising: a drive motor, a robotic arm and a robotic claw; the drive motor is used to determine the drive time and the drive force according to a control signal; the robotic arm is connected to the robotic claw, and the robotic arm is used to drive the robotic claw to move toward the mouth of a non-human primate to be tested fixed on a non-human primate experimental platform with the drive force within the drive time according to the drive of the drive motor; the robotic claw is used to grasp the reward food, and control the grasping or releasing of the reward food according to the control signal to control the reward for the non-human primate to be tested, thereby realizing automatic reward for non-human primate behavioral experiments, thereby driving the non-human primate to complete experimental actions that meet the standards, and can improve the accuracy of the experimental data.

[0038] Note that the above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention and the technical principles used. Those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described herein, and that various obvious changes, readjustments and substitutions can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, although the present invention has been described in more detail through the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and may include more other equivalent embodiments without departing from the concept of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is determined by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. An automatic reward device based on task drive, characterized in that: include: Drive motors, robotic arms and grippers; The driving motor is used to determine the driving time and driving force according to the control signal; The mechanical arm is connected to the mechanical claw, and the mechanical arm is used to drive the mechanical claw to move toward the mouth of the non-human primate to be tested fixed on the non-human primate experimental platform within the driving time and with the driving force according to the driving motor; The mechanical claw is used to grasp the reward food, and to control grasping or releasing the reward food according to the control signal, so as to control the reward for the non-human primate to be detected; Wherein, the mechanical claw is used to release the reward food after the driving motor drives the mechanical arm to drive the mechanical claw to move to a preset end position; Wherein, the driving motor is used to control the mechanical arm to move to the initial position when no control signal is received within a preset time; The drive motor is also used to control the mechanical arm to move toward the mouth of the non-human primate in a preset forward mode when receiving a control signal within a preset time; the larger the control signal, the faster the forward speed of the mechanical arm driven by the drive motor; when the control signal reaches a preset threshold, the drive motor drives the mechanical arm to move to a preset critical position; The driving motor is used to drive the mechanical arm to drive the mechanical claw to move to a preset critical position after judging that the control signal reaches a preset threshold value, and after the control signal reaches the preset threshold value and reaches a preset duration, the driving mechanical arm drives the mechanical claw to move from the critical position to a preset end position and release the reward food; the larger the control signal value, the shorter the required duration; Among them, the driving motor is used to drive the robotic arm to drive the robotic claw to move to a preset critical position after determining that the control signal reaches a preset threshold, but when the control signal reaches the preset threshold but does not reach the preset duration, the robotic claw does not drive the reward food to move to the preset end position.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The driving motor is a stepping motor.

3. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that The stepper motor is used to determine the rotation angle and speed according to the control signal.

4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The mechanical claw is a hand-shaped structure.

5. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The mechanical arm comprises a sliding track, and the mechanical claw is connected to the mechanical arm via a sliding block arranged above the sliding track.

6. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The mechanical arm includes a ruler, and the ruler is arranged along the moving direction of the mechanical claw.

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