Neural self-organization for muscle-driven robots

Abstract: We present self-organizing control principles for simulated robots actuated by synthetic muscles. Muscles correspond to linear motors exerting force only when contracting, but not when expanding, with joints being actuated by pairs of antagonistic muscles. Individually, muscles are connected to a controller composed of a single neuron with a dynamical threshold that generates target positions for the respective muscle. A stable limit cycle is generated when the embodied feedback loop is closed, giving rise to regular locomotive patterns. In the absence of direct couplings between neurons, we show that force-mediated intra- and inter-leg couplings between muscles suffice to generate stable gaits.