Learning of Central Pattern Generator Coordination in Robot Drawing

Payam Atoofi, Fred H. Hamker, John Nassour

How do robots learn to perform motor tasks in a specific condition and apply what they have learned in a new condition? This paper proposes a framework for motor coordination acquisition of a robot drawing straight lines within a part of the workspace. Then, it addresses transferring the acquired coordination into another area of the workspace while performing the same task. Motor patterns are generated by a Central Pattern Generator (CPG) model. The motor coordination for a given task is acquired by using a multi-objective optimization method that adjusts the CPGs' parameters involved in the coordination. To transfer the acquired motor coordination to the whole workspace we employed (1) a Self-Organizing Map that represents the end-effector coordination in the Cartesian space, and (2) an estimation method based on Inverse Distance Weighting that estimates the motor program parameters for each SOM neuron. After learning, the robot generalizes the acquired motor program along the SOM network. It is able therefore to draw lines from any point in the 2D workspace and with different orientations. Aside from the obvious distinctiveness of the proposed framework from those based on inverse kinematics typically leading to a point-to-point drawing, our approach also permits of transferring the motor program throughout the workspace.