Dead reckoning (also called path integration) is the process by which a navigating organism derives its current position relative to an Earthbound reference point from its own locomotion. Dead reckoning requires the continuous estimation of changes in direction and location through self-generated signals and the computation of position on the basis of these signals.

(i) Hymenopterous insects measure rotations and translations mainly with the help of optical references such as the Sun and translational visual flow. By contrast, mammals are able to estimate their position on the basis of purely ‘internal’ information; that is, signals generated in the vestibular system by inertial forces, somatosensory feedback, and efference copies (copies of central commands that control the performance of rotations and translations). Obviously, the assessment of the angular and linear components of locomotion is much more precise if it is assisted by external references than if this is not the case.

(ii) Only man-made dead reckoning systems yield precise position information through the twofold integration over time of inertial signals deriving from angular and linear acceleration. On the biological level, all species tested so far seem to rely on a simplified form of path ‘integration’: in certain test situations, arthropods and mammals (including humans) commit similar systematic errors. This suggests that species from unrelated taxa update position according to a similar algorithm.