Review_Central pattern generators for locomotion control in animals and robots_08.pdf

Neural Networks 21 (2008) 642–653 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Neural Networks journal homepage: /locate/neunet 2008 Special Issue Central pattern generators for locomotion control in animals and robots: A review Auke Jan Ijspeert School of Computer and Communication Sciences, EPFL - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 14, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Article history: The problem of controlling locomotion is an area in which neuroscience and robotics can fruitfully Received 24 March 2007 interact. In this article, I will review research carried out on locomotor central pattern generators Received in revised form (CPGs), i.e. neural circuits capable of producing coordinated patterns of high-dimensional rhythmic 7 March 2008 output signals while receiving only simple, low-dimensional, input signals. The review will first cover Accepted 7 March 2008 neurobiological observations concerning locomotor CPGs and their numerical modelling, with a special focus on vertebrates. It will then cover how CPG models implemented as neural networks or systems Keywords: of coupled oscillators can be used in robotics for controlling the locomotion of articulated robots. The Central pattern generators Locomotion review also presents how robots c