Towards biomimetic control of a three-link robotic arm in two dimensions

Abstract

The goal of this work is to explore the control of a robotic arm in a visually guided reaching operation. Considering the role of the superior colliculus and the spinal cord in human arm movements, this paper proposes simple approaches for the control of arm reaching. An efficient use of distance error signals between actual and desired end-point position leads to reaching trajectories in two dimensions that are very similar to more traditional kinematic strategies. This implies that the nature of premotor signals in the spinal cord may be related to simple error signals rather than trajectories.