Figure 2. The RatInABox random motion model closely matches features of real rat locomotion.

(a) An example 5-min trajectory from the Sargolini et al., 2006. dataset. Linear velocity (Rayleigh fit) and rotational velocity (Gaussian fit) histograms and the temporal autocorrelations (exponential fit) of their time series’. (b) A sampled 5-min trajectory from the RatInABox motion model with parameters matched to the Sargolini data. (c) Figure reproduced from Figure 8D in Satoh et al., 2011 showing 10 min of open-field exploration. ‘Thigmotaxis’ is the tendency of rodents to over-explore near boundaries/walls and has been linked to anxiety. (d) RatInABox replicates the tendency of agents to over-explore walls and corners, flexibly controlled with a ‘thigmotaxis’ parameter. (e) Histogram of the area-normalised time spent in annuli at increasing distances, ${\displaystyle d}$, from the wall. RatInABox and real data are closely matched in their tendency to over-explore locations near walls without getting too close.