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Advances in Robotics Research Volume 1, Number 1, January 2014 , pages 101-126 DOI: https://doi.org/10.12989/arr.2014.1.1.101 |
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Biologically inspired modular neural control for a leg-wheel hybrid robot |
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Poramate Manoonpong, Florentin Wörgötter and Pudit Laksanacharoen
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| Abstract | ||
| In this article we present modular neural control for a leg-wheel hybrid robot consisting of three legs with omnidirectional wheels. This neural control has four main modules having their functional origin in biological neural systems. A minimal recurrent control (MRC) module is for sensory signal processing and state memorization. Its outputs drive two front wheels while the rear wheel is controlled through a velocity regulating network (VRN) module. In parallel, a neural oscillator network module serves as a central pattern generator (CPG) controls leg movements for sidestepping. Stepping directions are achieved by a phase switching network (PSN) module. The combination of these modules generates various locomotion patterns and a reactive obstacle avoidance behavior. The behavior is driven by sensor inputs, to which additional neural preprocessing networks are applied. The complete neural circuitry is developed and tested using a physics simulation environment. This study verifies that the neural modules can serve a general purpose regardless of the robot | ||
| Key Words | ||
| neural networks; mobile robot control; autonomous robots; obstacle avoidance; reactive behavior | ||
| Address | ||
| Poramate Manoonpong and Florentin Wörgötter: Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience (BCCN), the Third Institute of Physics, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany Pudit Laksanacharoen: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut | ||
