Connectionists: Review article on CPGs for locomotion control in animals and robots

[Auke Jan Ijspeert]

Dear Connectionists,

Researchers in the neural control of movement might be interested in the 
following review paper on central pattern generators for locomotion 
control in animals and robots that will appear in Neural Networks (~200 
citations).

Best regards,

Auke

Auke Jan Ijspeert. Central pattern generators for locomotion control in 
animals and robots: a review. /Neural Networks/, 21(4):642-653, 2008.

Abstract:

The problem of controlling locomotion is an area in which neuroscience 
and robotics can fruitfully interact. In this article, I will review 
research carried out on locomotor central pattern generators (CPGs), 
i.e. neural circuits capable of producing coordinated patterns of 
high-dimensional rhythmic output signals while receiving only simple, 
low-dimensional, input signals. The review will first cover 
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 of 
coupled oscillators can be used in robotics for controlling the 
locomotion of articulated robots. The review also presents how robots 
can be used as scientific tools to obtain a better understanding of the 
functioning of biological CPGs. Finally, various methods for designing 
CPGs to control specific modes of locomotion will be briefly reviewed. 
In this process, I will discuss different types of CPG models, the pros 
and cons of using CPGs with robots, and the pros and cons of using 
robots as scientific tools. Open research topics both in biology and in 
robotics will also be discussed.

Preprint: http://birg2.epfl.ch/publications/fulltext/ajIjspeert08a.pdf

Official paper: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neunet.2008.03.014

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Prof Auke Jan Ijspeert 
SNF (Swiss National Science Foundation) Assistant Professor
School of Computer and Communication Sciences, EPFL

EPFL-IC-ISIM-GRIJ
EPFL, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Station 14
CH 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
Office: INN 237     Tel: +41 21 693 2658,    Fax: +41 21 693 3705
www: http://birg.epfl.ch             Email: Auke.Ijspeert at epfl.ch

Adjunct Assistant Professor,
Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California
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