Abstract
A neuromechanical model of a mantis was developed to explore the neural basis of some elements of hunting behavior, which is very flexible and context-dependent, for robotic control. In order to capture the complexity and flexibility of insect behavior, we have leveraged our previous work [1] and constructed a dynamical model of a mantis with a control system built from dynamical neuron models, which simulate the flow of ions through cell membranes. We believe that this level of detail will provide more insight into what makes the animal successful than a finite state machine (FSM) or a recurrent neural network (RNN). Each of the model’s walking legs has six degrees of freedom. Each joint is actuated by an antagonistic pair of muscles, controlled by a custom designed variable-stiffness joint controller based on insect neurobiology. The resulting low-level control system serves as the groundwork for a more complete behavioral model of the animal.
This work was supported by NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship NNX12AN24H. Further support was provided by AFOSR grant FA9550-10-1-0054, as well as NSF Grant IOS-1120305.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Szczecinski, N.S., Brown, A.E., Bender, J.A., Quinn, R.D., Ritzmann, R.E.: A Neuromechanical Simulation of Insect Walking and Transition to Turning of the Cockroach Blaberus discoidalis. Biological Cybernetics (2013)
Ritzmann, R.E., Quinn, R.D., Watson, J.T., Zill, S.N.: Insect walking and biorobotics: A relationship with mutual benefits. Bioscience 50(1), 23–33 (2000)
Schilling, M., Hoinville, T., Schmitz, J., Cruse, H.: Walknet, a bio-inspired controller for hexapod walking. Biological Cybernetics 107(4), 397–419 (2013)
Cleal, K.S., Prete, F.R.: The Predatory Strike of Free Ranging Praying Mantises, Sphodromantis lineola (Burmeister). II: Strikes in the Horizontal Plane. Brain Behavior and Evolution (48), 191–204 (1996)
Knops, S.A., Tóth, T.I., Guschlbauer, C., Gruhn, M., Daun-Gruhn, S.: A neuro-mechanical model for the neural basis of curve walking in the stick insect. Journal of Neurophysiology, 679–691 (November 2012)
Daun-Gruhn, S., Tóth, T.I.: An inter-segmental network model and its use in elucidating gait-switches in the stick insect. Journal of Computational Neuroscience (December 2010)
Prete, F.R., Hurd, L.E., Branstrator, D., Johnson, A.: Responses to computer-generated visual stimuli by the male praying mantis, Sphodromantis lineola (Burmeister). Animal Behaviour 63(3), 503–510 (2002)
Grimaldi, D., Engel, M.S.: Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2005)
Rossel, S.: Foveal Fixation and Tracking in the Praying Mantis. Journal of Comparative Physiology A Neuroethology Sensory Neural And Behavioral Physiology 139, 307–331 (1980)
Nye, S.W., Ritzmann, R.E.: Motion analysis of leg joints associated with escape turns of the cockroach, Periplaneta americana. Journal of Comparative Physiology. A, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology 171(2), 183–194 (1992)
Cofer, D., Cymbalyuk, G., Reid, J., Zhu, Y., Heitler, W.J., Edwards, D.H.: AnimatLab: a 3D graphics environment for neuromechanical simulations. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 187(2), 280–288 (2010)
Carbonell, C.S.: The Thoracic Muscles of the Cockroach Periplaneta americana (L.), vol. 107. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C (1947)
Pearson, K.G., Iles, J.F.: Innervation of coxal depressor muscles in the cockroach, Periplaneta americana. The Journal of Experimental Biology 54(1), 215–232 (1971)
Watson, J.T., Ritzmann, R.E.: Leg kinematics and muscle activity during treadmill running in the cockroach, Blaberus discoidalis: II. Fast running. Journal of comparative physiology. A, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology 182(1), 23–33 (1998)
Büschges, A., Gruhn, M.: Mechanosensory Feedback in Walking: From Joint Control to Locomotor Patterns. Advances In Insect Physiology 34(07), 193–230 (2007)
Zill, S.N., Schmitz, J., Büschges, A.: Load sensing and control of posture and locomotion. Arthropod Structure & Development 33(3), 273–286 (2004)
Dorf, R.C., Bishop, R.H.: Modern Control Systems. Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River (2008)
Field, L.H., Matheson, T.: Chordotonal Organs of Insects. Advances In Insect Physiology 27, 1–230 (1998)
Zakotnik, J., Matheson, T., Dürr, V.: Co-contraction and passive forces facilitate load compensation of aimed limb movements. The Journal of Neuroscience: the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience 26(19), 4995–5007 (2006)
Bender, J.A., Simpson, E.M., Ritzmann, R.E.: Computer-assisted 3D kinematic analysis of all leg joints in walking insects. PloS one 5(10) (2010)
Nelson, G.M., Quinn, R.D.: Posture control of a cockroach-like robot. IEEE Control Systems 19(2), 9–14 (1999)
Yamawaki, Y., Uno, K., Ikeda, R., Toh, Y.: Coordinated movements of the head and body during orienting behaviour in the praying mantis Tenodera aridifolia. Journal of Insect Physiology 57(7), 1010–1016 (2011)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this paper
Cite this paper
Szczecinski, N.S., Martin, J.P., Ritzmann, R.E., Quinn, R.D. (2014). Neuromechanical Mantis Model Replicates Animal Postures via Biological Neural Models. In: Duff, A., Lepora, N.F., Mura, A., Prescott, T.J., Verschure, P.F.M.J. (eds) Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems. Living Machines 2014. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 8608. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09435-9_26
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09435-9_26
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-09434-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-09435-9
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)