A Biologically Inspired Approach to the Coordination of Hexapedal Gait

This paper presents a method for the control of locomotion in a robot hexapod. The approach is based on the WalkNet structure, which in turn is based on the neural control structure of the insect Carausius morosus. Though the WalkNet structure has been shown to function well in kinematic (i.e., non-dynamic) simulations, the authors found that the approach to coordinated control of hexapedal locomotion entailed several significant problems when simulated in the presence of dynamic effects, including gravitational effects, inertial dynamics, and ground contact dynamics. As such, the authors propose several variations on the WalkNet structure that provides stable and robust locomotion in the presence of dynamics, while still maintaining the attributes of WalkNet coordinated control, including self-selection of gait and associated emergent behaviors. The approach is simulated in the presence of dynamics and shown to provide stable gait with emergent characteristics.