Moving right arm in the right place: Ophiuroid-inspired omnidirectional robot driven by coupled dynamical systems

Autonomous decentralized control is a key concept for understanding the mechanism underlying the adaptive and versatile behavior of animals. Although the design methodology of decentralized control based on a dynamical system approach that can impart adaptability by using coupled oscillators has been proposed in previous studies, it cannot reproduce the versatility of animal behaviors comprehensively. Therefore, our objective is to understand behavioral versatility from the perspective of well-coordinated rhythmic and non-rhythmic movements. To this end, we focus on ophiuroids as simple “best” model living organisms that exhibit spontaneous role assignment of rhythmic and non-rhythmic arm movements, and we model such arm movements by using an active rotator model that can describe both oscillatory and excitatory properties. Simulation results show that the spontaneous role assignment of arm movements is successfully realized by using the proposed model, and the simulated locomotion is qualitatively equivalent to the locomotion of real ophiuroids. This fact can potentially facilitate a better understanding of the control mechanism responsible for behavioral versatility in animals.