The TWIML AI Podcast (formerly This Week in Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence)

Understanding Collective Insect Communication with ML, w/ Orit Peleg - #590

Sep 5, 2022

In this discussion, Orit Peleg, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, dives into her fascinating research on insect communication. She shares how swarming behaviors in honeybees mirror principles in distributed computing and emergent systems. Orit also highlights the unique flash patterns of fireflies, showcasing innovative algorithms used to study their synchronization. Delving into conservation, she addresses the impact of light pollution on fireflies and explores how machine learning enhances our understanding of these complex insect societies.

37:13

Creator website

Episode guests

Orit Peleg

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

3min

Swarm Intelligence: Bees and Fireflies

12min

Exploring Optimization Challenges in Multi-Camera Systems

2min

Exploring Evolutionary Optimization and Machine Learning in Research

2min

Illuminating Firefly Conservation

4min

The Buzz of Communication: Honeybee Society Uncovered

15min

Today we’re joined by Orit Peleg, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Orit’s work focuses on understanding the behavior of disordered living systems, by merging tools from physics, biology, engineering, and computer science. In our conversation, we discuss how Orit found herself exploring problems of swarming behaviors and their relationship to distributed computing system architecture and spiking neurons. We look at two specific areas of research, the first focused on the patterns observed in firefly species, how the data is collected, and the types of algorithms used for optimization. Finally, we look at how Orit’s research with fireflies translates to a completely different insect, the honeybee, and what the next steps are for investigating these and other insect families.

The complete show notes for this episode can be found at twimlai.com/go/590

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