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Main Authors: Norstein, Emma Stensby, Yasui, Kotaro, Kano, Takeshi, Ishiguro, Akio, Glette, Kyrre
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.12425
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author Norstein, Emma Stensby
Yasui, Kotaro
Kano, Takeshi
Ishiguro, Akio
Glette, Kyrre
author_facet Norstein, Emma Stensby
Yasui, Kotaro
Kano, Takeshi
Ishiguro, Akio
Glette, Kyrre
contents Robot controllers are often optimised for a single robot in a single environment. This approach proves brittle, as such a controller will often fail to produce sensible behavior for a new morphology or environment. In comparison, animal gaits are robust and versatile. By observing animals, and attempting to extract general principles of locomotion from their movement, we aim to design a single decentralised controller applicable to diverse morphologies and environments. The controller implements the three components 1) undulation, 2) peristalsis, and 3) leg motion, which we believe are the essential elements in most animal gaits. The controller is tested on a variety of simulated centipede-like robots. The centipede is chosen as inspiration because it moves using both body contractions and legged locomotion. For a controller to work in qualitatively different settings, it must also be able to exhibit qualitatively different behaviors. We find that six different modes of locomotion emerge from our controller in response to environmental and morphological changes. We also find that different parts of the centipede model can exhibit different modes of locomotion, simultaneously, based on local morphological features. This controller can potentially aid in the design or evolution of robots, by quickly testing the potential of a morphology, or be used to get insights about underlying locomotion principles in the centipede.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2411_12425
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Behaviour diversity in a walking and climbing centipede-like virtual creature
Norstein, Emma Stensby
Yasui, Kotaro
Kano, Takeshi
Ishiguro, Akio
Glette, Kyrre
Robotics
Robot controllers are often optimised for a single robot in a single environment. This approach proves brittle, as such a controller will often fail to produce sensible behavior for a new morphology or environment. In comparison, animal gaits are robust and versatile. By observing animals, and attempting to extract general principles of locomotion from their movement, we aim to design a single decentralised controller applicable to diverse morphologies and environments. The controller implements the three components 1) undulation, 2) peristalsis, and 3) leg motion, which we believe are the essential elements in most animal gaits. The controller is tested on a variety of simulated centipede-like robots. The centipede is chosen as inspiration because it moves using both body contractions and legged locomotion. For a controller to work in qualitatively different settings, it must also be able to exhibit qualitatively different behaviors. We find that six different modes of locomotion emerge from our controller in response to environmental and morphological changes. We also find that different parts of the centipede model can exhibit different modes of locomotion, simultaneously, based on local morphological features. This controller can potentially aid in the design or evolution of robots, by quickly testing the potential of a morphology, or be used to get insights about underlying locomotion principles in the centipede.
title Behaviour diversity in a walking and climbing centipede-like virtual creature
topic Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.12425