Leg Coordination Mechanisms in the Stick Insect Applied to Hexapod Robot Locomotion

Abstract

Three of the mechanisms believed to be responsible for leg coordination in the stick insect, Carausius morosus, are used to control the straight-line locomotion of a hexapod robot on a smooth surface. The robot walks with a continuum of statically stable insectlike gaits in response to a single, scalar user input that controls the speed of locomotion. This control strategy is highly robust in the sense that the controller continues to maintain its basic function of causing the robot to walk effectively despite large perturbations to the controller. This controller robustness was demonstrated by inducing a wide variety of lesions (severing of connections) and performing parameter sensitivity studies.