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Bounded Adaptive Sensitivity Through Bio-Inspired Digital Hormone Regulation for Emotionally Intelligent UAV Traffic
Mohamed Zaidan1, Nafaâ Jabeur2, Ahmed Nait Sidi Moh3
1Transportation Research Institute (IMOB), Hasselt University, 3500 Hasselt, Belgium.
Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland)
|July 27, 2026
Summary
This study introduces the Digital Hormone Layer (DHL) to dynamically adjust UAV controller sensitivity, significantly improving emergency response times under stress. The novel system enhances adaptability without impacting battery life or personality traits.
Area of Science:
- Robotics and Control Systems
- Artificial Intelligence
- Neuroscience-inspired Engineering
Background:
- Current affect-driven UAV controllers use static sensitivity parameters, failing to account for cumulative operational context.
- Existing Pull-Push Engine (PPE) controllers have fixed sensitivity, limiting adaptive responses to prolonged exposure.
- This gap hinders UAV adaptability in dynamic and stressful environments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce a novel Digital Hormone Layer (DHL) for dynamic modulation of UAV controller sensitivity.
- To enable adaptive behavioral responses in UAVs based on accumulated operational context.
- To investigate the impact of neuroendocrine-inspired regulation on UAV performance, particularly under stress.
Main Methods:
- Developed a bounded neuroendocrine-inspired regulatory mechanism (DHL) to dynamically adjust the PPE's effective sensitivity (αeff).
- Incorporated three scalar hormones (cortisol-, dopamine-, oxytocin-inspired) to accumulate operational context over medium timescales.
- Constrained modulation within a personality envelope using the Personality Preservation Budget (PPB, ρ = 0.20).
Main Results:
- DHL-augmented controllers responded up to 1.91× faster to multi-stressor emergencies compared to static controllers.
- The enhanced response speed is attributed to the bounded adaptive DHL trajectory, not a low steady-state sensitivity.
- Observed an inverse correlation between accumulated stress and effective sensitivity, consistent with stress-driven modulation.
- Multi-agent extension demonstrated bounded inter-agent coupling, reducing sensitivity distance by 51.6% while maintaining personality constraints.
Conclusions:
- The Digital Hormone Layer (DHL) significantly improves UAV emergency response times through dynamic sensitivity modulation.
- The system offers bounded adaptation, maintaining personality consistency and showing promise for multi-agent coordination.
- Future work should evaluate system-level multi-agent properties and broader applications of DHL.
