Glider Soaring via Reinforcement Learning in the Field

Glider soaring via reinforcement learning in the field

Soaring birds often rely on ascending thermal plumes (thermals) in the atmosphere as they search for prey or migrate across large distances1–4. The landscape of convective currents is rugged and shifts on timescales of a few minutes as thermals constantly form, disintegrate or are transported away by the wind5,6. How soaring birds find and navigate thermals within this complex landscape is unknown. Reinforcement learning7 provides an appropriate…