Dürr and Krause (2002) Proc. 5th Int. Conf. CLAWAR, Paris, in press. Manuscript PA 077 Design of a Biomimetic Active Tactile Sensor for Legged Locomotion
V Dürr and A Krause
Abt. Biologische Kybernetik und Theoretische Biologie, Fakultät für Biologie, Universität Bielefeld, Germany

ABSTRACT

Many insects actively move their antennae during locomotion. In case of the stick insect, these movements are known to aid efficient leg coordination when walking on rough terrain. Based upon design principles of an insect antenna, we suggest to employ a biomimetic active tactile sensor to guide leg movements of walking machines. We analyse the impact of various kinematic parameters on the workspace of the sensor, and suggest an evolutionary optimi-sation technique for selecting an appropriate set of parameters for a given environment. Finally, we introduce a control circuit using parallel self-organising forward models of the antenna for active targeting- and tracking-movements. This artificial neural network controller allows online adaptation of targeting accuracy and, to some extent, extrapolation of the target trajectory.