移動速度に応じた首振り運動を発現可能な四脚ロボットの自律分散制御則

抄録

When horses walk, they move their necks as well as legs rhythmically. In addition, horses exhibit versatile neck movements according to locomotion speed. This phenomenon could be a key to understanding how animals orchestrate their large degrees of freedom in their bodies. However, the mechanism underlying this phenomenon still remains elusive. In the present study, we propose a decentralized control mechanism for the coordination of neck and limb movements in which inclination of the body trunk is fed back into neck and limb motions. Using a simple two-dimensional physical simulator we developed, we successfully reproduced speed-dependent neck movements during walk and trot gaits.