We present a novel analysis technique to understand the dynamics of a recently described locomotion mode called legless locomotion. Legless locomotion is a locomotion mode available to a legged robot when it becomes high-centered, that is, when its legs do not touch the ground. Under these conditions, the robot may still locomote in the plane by swinging its legs in the air, rocking on its body...

AN ARCHITECTURE FOR BEHAVIORAL LOCOMOTION BARRY D. REICH NORMAN I. BADLER We present a complete architecture for behavioral control of locomotion for both real and simulated agents and provide a design methodology for building the locomotion control systems that embody the architecture. A low-level locomotion engine controls an agent’s actions directly based on intermediate-level reactive behav...

Intraspinal microstimulation (ISMS) through a single microelectrode can induce locomotion in cats spinalized at T(13) 1 wk before (untrained) or after 3-5 wk of treadmill training. Here we study the optimal parameters of ISMS and the characteristics of locomotion evoked. ISMS was applied in the dorsal region of segments L(3)-S(1) at different lateralities (midline to 2.5 mm) and after an intrav...

There is currently no fully natural, general-purpose locomotion interface. Instead, interfaces such as gamepads or treadmills are required to explore large virtual environments (VEs). Furthermore, sensory feedback that would normally be used in real-world movement is often restricted in VR due to constraints such as reduced field of view (FOV). Accommodating these limitations with locomotion in...

Locomotion is an essential animal behavior used for translocation. The spinal cord acts as key executing center, but how it coordinates many body parts located across distance remains poorly understood. Here we employed mouse genetic and viral approaches to reveal organizational principles of long-projecting spinal circuits and their role in quadrupedal locomotion. Using neurotransmitter identi...

BACKGROUND HeartLander is a miniature mobile robot designed to navigate over the epicardium of the beating heart for minimally invasive therapy. This paper presents a technique to decrease slippage and improve locomotion efficiency by synchronizing the locomotion with the intrapericardial pressure variations of the respiration and heartbeat cycles. METHODS Respiratory and heartbeat phases wer...

Animals move by adaptively coordinating the sequential activation of muscles. The circuit mechanisms underlying coordinated locomotion are poorly understood. Here, we report on a novel circuit for the propagation of waves of muscle contraction, using the peristaltic locomotion of Drosophila larvae as a model system. We found an intersegmental chain of synaptically connected neurons, alternating...

The majority of steering algorithms model very few locomotion constraints or capabilities, and output only a force or velocity vector to motion synthesis. This simplistic interface between navigation and motion synthesis lacks control and introduces ambiguities. This paper considers how footsteps can be used to navigate in crowds of characters. We propose a novel locomotion model that represent...

The present paper proposes analog integrated circuit (IC) implementation of a biologically inspired controller in quadruped robot locomotion. Our controller is based on the central pattern generator (CPG), which is known as the biological neural network that generates fundamental rhythmic movements in locomotion of animals. Many CPG-based controllers for robot locomotion have been proposed, but...

The brain's response to sensory input is strikingly modulated by behavioral state. Notably, the visual response of mouse primary visual cortex (V1) is enhanced by locomotion, a tractable and accessible example of a time-locked change in cortical state. The neural circuits that transmit behavioral state to sensory cortex to produce this modulation are unknown. In vivo calcium imaging of behaving...