School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia.
Proc Biol Sci. 2022 May 11;289(1974):20220237. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0237.
Navigational mechanisms have been characterized as servomechanisms. A navigational servomechanism specifies a goal state to strive for. Discrepancies between the perceived current state and the goal state specify error. Servomechanisms adjust the course of travel to reduce the error. I now add that navigational servomechanisms work with oscillators, periodic movements of effectors that drive locomotion. I illustrate this concept selectively over a vast range of scales of travel from micrometres in bacteria to thousands of kilometres in sea turtles. The servomechanisms differ in sophistication, with some interrupting forward motion occasionally or changing travel speed in kineses and others adjusting the direction of travel in taxes. I suggest that in other realms of life as well, especially in cognition, servomechanisms work with oscillators.
导航机制已被描述为随动系统。导航随动系统指定一个努力追求的目标状态。感知到的当前状态与目标状态之间的差异指定为误差。随动系统调整行进路线以减小误差。我现在补充说，导航随动系统与振荡器一起工作，振荡器是驱动运动的效应器的周期性运动。我在从细菌的几微米到海龟的数千公里的广泛旅行尺度上选择性地说明这个概念。随动系统在复杂性上有所不同，有些系统偶尔会中断前进运动或改变运动速度，而有些系统则调整运动方向。我认为，在生命的其他领域，特别是在认知中，随动系统也与振荡器一起工作。
