Combining Reflexes and External Sensory Information in a Neuromusculoskeletal Model to Control a Quadruped Robot
本文从生物学和生态心理学角度，提出一个整合视觉注意、物体识别、运动控制、中枢模式生成和肌肉反射的哺乳动物神经肌肉骨骼模型，用于控制四足机器人在平坦和自然地形中行走，并展示了面对突发障碍时姿势反射机制的重要性。
This article examines the importance of integrating locomotion and cognitive information for achieving dynamic locomotion from a viewpoint combining biology and ecological psychology. We present a mammalian neuromusculoskeletal model from external sensory information processing to muscle activation, which includes: 1) a visual-attention control mechanism for controlling attention to external inputs; 2) object recognition representing the primary motor cortex; 3) a motor control model that determines motor commands traveling down the corticospinal and reticulospinal tracts; 4) a central pattern generation model representing pattern generation in the spinal cord; and 5) a muscle reflex model representing the muscle model and its reflex mechanism. The proposed model is able to generate the locomotion of a quadruped robot in flat and natural terrain. The experiment also shows the importance of a postural reflex mechanism when experiencing a sudden obstacle. We show the reflex mechanism when a sudden obstacle is separately detected from both external (retina) and internal (touching afferent) sensory information. We present the biological rationale for supporting the proposed model. Finally, we discuss future contributions, trends, and the importance of the proposed research.