CAREER: Understanding the role of sensory feedback in gait stability through neurorobotic modeling

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This project aims to construct a comprehensive model of locomotion that unifies current theories, and to provide a more complete picture of how the neural system, body, and external environment interact. The application of neuroscience to robotics lags capabilities and knowledge in each field; this work remedies this by unifying the state-of-the-art in both fields. Robotics will be advanced through the development of neural controllers that copy the nature of what makes animal locomotion robust and adaptive. Neuroscience will be advanced through the embodiment of neural models on a physical system. These advances will lead to improved treatment and rehabilitation methods for disorders that affect locomotion, and robotic systems that can be used in unstructured environments and assistive contexts.This project seeks to build the foundation of neural based control systems for use in quadrupedal legged robots by identifying the minimal neural circuits required for stable locomotion. Additionally, this work will provide insights into how these circuits provide robust resistance to internal and external perturbations by investigating the interplay between mechanics, sensory feedback, and spinal circuits. The approach for this research is to encapsulate the latest neuroscience data of locomotion circuits into comprehensive neural models that run on real-time computing platforms, use them to control a biomimetic robot, and compare experimental results with neural and biomechanical animal data. The specific goal is to test computational neuroscience models of dynamic gait regulation and gait transitions, and evaluate their ability to maintain stable locomotion in a robot and explain animal behavior. Towards this goal, the objectives for this project are to: 1) Quantify the impact of full-body mechanics on understanding neural control by characterizing the differences between a neurorobot, neuromechanical simulations, and pure neural models, 2) Establish how sensory feedback and spinal circuits effect stability in response to different perturbations, and 3) Discover what neural mechanisms are necessary to maintain stability and guarantee successful gait transitions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.