A field-approximation approach to the execution of motor plans

Considers the issue of transforming motor plans into control parameters as a field-approximation problem. The authors focus on the problem of trajectory formation within cluttered environments. On one hand, the planner represents obstacles and targets as patterns of force vectors over the manipulator´s workspace. On the other hand, the manipulator is operated by a distributed system of controllers and spring-like actuators. Each controller modulates a field of end-point forces according to a predefined law. The problem of setting the controller parameters with such a system is solved as a least-square approximation of the planned force vectors. The authors discuss the relevance of this approach to robotics and to biological motor control.<>