A neural network with central pattern generators entrained by sensory feedback controls walking of a bipedal model

A neuromechanical simulation of a planar, bipedal walking robot has been developed. It is constructed as a simplified, planar musculoskeletal model of the biomechanics of the human lower body. The controller consists of a dynamic neural network with central pattern generators (CPGs) entrained by force and movement sensory feedback to generate appropriate muscle forces for walking. The CPG model is a two-level architecture, which consists of separate rhythm generator and pattern formation networks. The biped model walks stably in the sagittal plane without inertial sensors or a centralized posture controller or a 'baby walker' to help overcome gravity. Its gait is similar to humans' and it walks at speeds from 0.850 m s-1 up to 1.289 m s-1 with leg length of 0.84 m. The model walks over small unknown steps (6% of leg length) and up and down 5° slopes without any additional higher level control actions.

[1]  M P Kadaba,et al.  Measurement of lower extremity kinematics during level walking , 1990, Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society.

[2]  Kazunori Hase,et al.  Computational evolution of human bipedal walking by a neuro-musculo-skeletal model , 1999, Artificial Life and Robotics.

[3]  Ying Zhu,et al.  AnimatLab: A 3D graphics environment for neuromechanical simulations , 2010, Journal of Neuroscience Methods.

[4]  J. F. Yang,et al.  The initiation of the swing phase in human infant stepping: importance of hip position and leg loading , 2000, The Journal of physiology.

[5]  Martijn Wisse,et al.  Design and Construction of MIKE; a 2-D Autonomous Biped Based on Passive Dynamic Walking , 2006 .

[6]  Florentin Wörgötter,et al.  Fast Biped Walking with a Sensor-driven Neuronal Controller and Real-time Online Learning , 2006, Int. J. Robotics Res..

[7]  K. Pearson.  Role of sensory feedback in the control of stance duration in walking cats , 2008, Brain Research Reviews.

[8]  A. Hodgkin,et al.  Currents carried by sodium and potassium ions through the membrane of the giant axon of Loligo , 1952, The Journal of physiology.

[9]  J Maxwell Donelan,et al.  Dynamic Principles of Gait and Their Clinical Implications , 2010, Physical Therapy.

[10]  P. Guertin.  Central Pattern Generator for Locomotion: Anatomical, Physiological, and Pathophysiological Considerations , 2013, Front. Neur..

[11]  K. Pearson,et al.  Fictive motor patterns in chronic spinal cats. , 1991, Journal of neurophysiology.

[12]  Auke Jan Ijspeert,et al.  Biped gait controller for large speed variations, combining reflexes and a central pattern generator in a neuromuscular model , 2015, 2015 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA).

[13]  Roger Quinn,et al.  A biologically based neural system coordinates the joints and legs of a tetrapod , 2015, Bioinspiration & biomimetics.

[14]  Keir G Pearson,et al.  Generating the walking gait: role of sensory feedback. , 2004, Progress in brain research.

[15]  S. Grillner,et al.  On the central generation of locomotion in the low spinal cat , 1979, Experimental Brain Research.

[16]  S. Rossignol,et al.  Dynamic sensorimotor interactions in locomotion. , 2006, Physiological reviews.

[17]  Youngho Kim,et al.  Metatarsophalangeal Joint Kinetics in Normal Walking , 2013 .

[18]  K. Pearson.  Common principles of motor control in vertebrates and invertebrates. , 1993, Annual review of neuroscience.

[19]  K. Pearson,et al.  A role for hip position in initiating the swing-to-stance transition in walking cats. , 2005, Journal of neurophysiology.

[20]  J. Morimoto,et al.  A Biologically Inspired Biped Locomotion Strategy for Humanoid Robots: Modulation of Sinusoidal Patterns by a Coupled Oscillator Model , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Robotics.

[21]  M. Dimitrijevic,et al.  Evidence for a Spinal Central Pattern Generator in Humans a , 1998, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

[22]  Theresa J Klein,et al.  A physical model of sensorimotor interactions during locomotion , 2012, Journal of neural engineering.

[23]  V. Dietz.  Spinal cord pattern generators for locomotion , 2003, Clinical Neurophysiology.

[24]  D. McCrea,et al.  Organization of mammalian locomotor rhythm and pattern generation , 2008, Brain Research Reviews.

[25]  F. G. Evans,et al.  Anatomical Data for Analyzing Human Motion , 1983 .

[26]  Hartmut Witte,et al.  Legs evolved only at the end! , 2007, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.

[27]  R J Full,et al.  How animals move: an integrative view. , 2000, Science.

[28]  Kiyotoshi Matsuoka,et al.  Mechanisms of frequency and pattern control in the neural rhythm generators , 1987, Biological Cybernetics.

[29]  Nobutoshi Yamazaki,et al.  Generation of human bipedal locomotion by a bio-mimetic neuro-musculo-skeletal model , 2001, Biological Cybernetics.

[30]  Shinya Aoi,et al.  Locomotion Control of a Biped Robot Using Nonlinear Oscillators , 2005, Auton. Robots.

[31]  D. McCrea,et al.  Deletions of rhythmic motoneuron activity during fictive locomotion and scratch provide clues to the organization of the mammalian central pattern generator. , 2005, Journal of neurophysiology.

[32]  M. V. D. Panne,et al.  SIMBICON: simple biped locomotion control , 2007, SIGGRAPH 2007.

[33]  K. Pearson.  Proprioceptive regulation of locomotion , 1995, Current Opinion in Neurobiology.

[34]  Ludovic Righetti,et al.  Programmable central pattern generators: an application to biped locomotion control , 2006, Proceedings 2006 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2006. ICRA 2006..

[35]  Auke Jan Ijspeert,et al.  Central pattern generators for locomotion control in animals and robots: A review , 2008, Neural Networks.

[36]  E. Jankowska.  Spinal interneuronal networks in the cat: Elementary components , 2008, Brain Research Reviews.

[37]  Hiroshi Shimizu,et al.  Self-organized control of bipedal locomotion by neural oscillators in unpredictable environment , 1991, Biological Cybernetics.

[38]  D. McCrea.  Spinal circuitry of sensorimotor control of locomotion , 2001, The Journal of physiology.

[39]  H. Hultborn,et al.  Spinal control of locomotion – from cat to man , 2007, Acta physiologica.

[40]  W. Regehr,et al.  Short-term synaptic plasticity. , 2002, Annual review of physiology.

[41]  Hartmut Geyer,et al.  A Muscle-Reflex Model That Encodes Principles of Legged Mechanics Produces Human Walking Dynamics and Muscle Activities , 2010, IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering.

[42]  J. Duysens,et al.  Significance of load receptor input during locomotion: a review. , 2000, Gait & posture.

[43]  Chandana Paul,et al.  Development of a human neuro-musculo-skeletal model for investigation of spinal cord injury , 2005, Biological Cybernetics.

[44]  Katja,et al.  [Cognitive Systems Monographs] Modeling, Simulation and Optimization of Bipedal Walking Volume 18 || Modeling and Control of Dynamically Walking Bipedal Robots , 2013 .