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A bioinspired autonomous swimming robot as a tool for studying goal-directed locomotion

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Abstract

The bioinspired approach has been key in combining the disciplines of robotics with neuroscience in an effective and promising fashion. Indeed, certain aspects in the field of neuroscience, such as goal-directed locomotion and behaviour selection, can be validated through robotic artefacts. In particular, swimming is a functionally important behaviour where neuromuscular structures, neural control architecture and operation can be replicated artificially following models from biology and neuroscience. In this article, we present a biomimetic system inspired by the lamprey, an early vertebrate that locomotes using anguilliform swimming. The artefact possesses extra- and proprioceptive sensory receptors, muscle-like actuation, distributed embedded control and a vision system. Experiments on optimised swimming and on goal-directed locomotion are reported, as well as the assessment of the performance of the system, which shows high energy efficiency and adaptive behaviour. While the focus is on providing a robotic platform for testing biological models, the reported system can also be of major relevance for the development of engineering system applications.

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Acknowledgments

The work presented in this manuscript was supported by the European Commission (FP7) within the framework of the LAMPETRA Project (EU contract no 216100). The authors would like to thank Mr Riccardo di Leonardo, Engineer Roberto Lazzarini, Mr Gabriele Favati, Mr Andrea Melani and Engineer Nicodemo Funaro for their advice and help in the fabrication of part of the robot. Finally, thanks to Mr Godfried Jansen van Vuuren for his technical support and many thanks to Lorna Gracie.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest or competing financial interest related to the work described.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Medical Science and Technology (IMSaT), University of Dundee, Wilson House, 1 Wurzburg Loan, Dundee Medipark, Dundee, DD2 1FD, UK

    L. Manfredi

  2. Bristol Robotics Laboratory, Frenchay Campus, Bristol, BS16 1QY, UK

    T. Assaf

  3. The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (SSSA), Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025 , Pontedera (Pisa), Italy

    S. Mintchev, S. Marrazza, S. Orofino, C. Stefanini & P. Dario

  4. Department of Neuroscience, Nobel Institute for Neurophysiology, Karolinska Institutet (KI), Retziusväg 8, 171 77 , Stockholm, Sweden

    L. Capantini, S. Grillner & P. Wallén

  5. HENESIS srl, Viale dei Mille 108, 43125 , Parma, Italy

    L. Ascari

  6. Department of Computational Biology, School of Computer Science and Communication, Royal Institute of Technology, Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan (KTH), 100 44 , Stockholm, Sweden

    Ö. Ekeberg

Authors
  1. L. Manfredi
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  2. T. Assaf
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  3. S. Mintchev
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  4. S. Marrazza
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  5. L. Capantini
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  6. S. Orofino
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  7. L. Ascari
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  8. S. Grillner
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  9. P. Wallén
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  10. Ö. Ekeberg
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  11. C. Stefanini
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  12. P. Dario
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to C. Stefanini.

Additional information

L. Manfredi, T. Assaf, L. Capantini and L. Ascari were formerly at SSSA.

This article forms part of a special issue of Biological Cybernetics entitled “Lamprey, Salamander Robots and Central Nervous System”.

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Manfredi, L., Assaf, T., Mintchev, S. et al. A bioinspired autonomous swimming robot as a tool for studying goal-directed locomotion. Biol Cybern 107, 513–527 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00422-013-0566-2

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