Amazing creature! Spider webs can be built using night vision and artificial intelligence, researchers report

Intriguing creatures

Spiders can be exceptionally intriguing creatures, and these tiny creatures sometimes can be spectacular.Scientists with John Hopkins University may have unraveled one of the biggest mysteries surrounding spiders.The scientists stated that they were able to use night vision and A.I. to learn how spiders build webs.The scientists published their findings online and in the November 2021 issue of Current Biology.

Andrew Gordus

Andrew Gordus shared, "After seeing a spectacular web, I thought, 'if you went to a zoo and saw a chimpanzee building this you'd think that's one amazing and impressive chimpanzee.'"Gordus added, "Well this is even more amazing because a spider's brain is so tiny and I was frustrated that we didn't know more about how this remarkable behavior occurs."Not all spiders construct webs, but those that do, have intrigued scientists for centuries.

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Understanding the small brain

Gordus says the first step was understanding how spiders' tiny brains support their high-level construction projects.The scientists had to systematically document and analyze all of the motor skills involved in the process. That hasn't been possible before.But, with the aid of new technology, Gordus, and the other researchers were able to capture and record all of the actions.

Hackled orb weaver

The scientists focused on the hackled orb weaver, a tiny spider species native to the western United States. These spiders build their webs during the nighttime.The researchers were able to rig an area in their lab with infrared cameras and lights positions around the spider's habitat. There they were able to record how the spiders build their webs.But that was only half of the journey. Abel Corver, says they also had to track the legs across all six of the spiders.

Artificial Intelligence!

The researchers used A.I. to track the legs and see precisely how the orb weavers interacted with their webs over time.They found that even if the outcome looked different, the spiders' rules to build their webs were the same every time.The scientists hope that we'll better understand larger brain systems by better understanding the spider's brain.