BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Memento EPFL//
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Non-Invasive Brain-Controlled Robots/Control of locomotion: from b
 iology to robotics
DTSTART:20110520T171500
DTSTAMP:20260430T004442Z
UID:409a9ac74a127909f9ef90a3eb55f41c9de6c44156c366876984c58f
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Millan and Prof. Ijspeert\nThe idea of controlling robot
 s and prosthetic devices not by manual control\, but by mere "thinking" (i
 .e.\, the brain activity of human subjects) has fascinated researchers for
  the last 30 years\, but it is only now that first experiments have shown 
 the possibility to do so. Such brain-controlled robots can potentially be 
 employed for substituting lost motor capabilities\, for rehabilitation as 
 well as for non-clinical applications like space research. In this I will 
 introduce the field of brain-machine interfaces (BMI) and presents several
  design principles required to successfully interact with robots. I will i
 llustrate these principles with examples ranging from wheelchairs\, to tel
 epresence robots\, and to hand ortheses:: ::The ability to efficiently mov
 e in complex environments is a fundamental property both for animals and f
 or robots\, and the problem of locomotion control is an area in which neur
 oscience and robotics can fruitfully interact. Animal locomotion control i
 s in a large part based on central pattern generators (CPGs)\, which are n
 eural networks capable of producing complex rhythmic patterns while being 
 activated and modulated by relatively simple control signals. These networ
 ks are located in the spinal cord for vertebrate animals. In this talk\, I
  will present how we model CPGs of lower vertebrates (lamprey and salamand
 er) using systems of coupled oscillators\, and how we test the CPG models 
 on board of amphibious robots\, in particular a salamander-like robot capa
 ble of swimming and walking. The models and robots were instrumental in te
 sting some novel hypotheses concerning the mechanisms of gait transition i
 n vertebrate animals. I will also present control architectures based on c
 oupled dynamical systems that we use to control the locomotion of various 
 robots (quadruped\, humanoid and reconfigurable modular robots) as well as
  exoskeletons for patients with locomotor deficits.
LOCATION:Polydome
STATUS:CONFIRMED
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR