Locomotion control of a serpentine crawling robot inspired by central pattern generators

Abstract

Serpentine locomotion is highly coordinating and full of adaptive ability in a clutter environment. Such outstanding and unique characteristics are acquired through millions of years' evolution. It is highly desirable to enhance robot with such characteristics, which is one of the ultimate aims of biomimetic research. To achieve this goal, we adopt a central pattern generator (CPG) inspired controller to generate Serpentine locomotion in a crawling robot. According to biology studies, CPGs are a set of neuronal circuits, which are responsible for producing rhythmic motion employed in animal locomotion. Such locomotion generation approach makes use of a set of coupled Kuramoto Oscillators to imitate of CPG in a nerve system. Moreover, to deal with dynamically changing environments, a feedback based on fuzzy logic control strategy is investigated. Finally, the proposed control approach is verified through the experiments of a crawling robot prototype.