Integration of an adaptive swing control into a neuromuscular human walking model

Abstract

Understanding the neuromuscular control underlying human locomotion has the potential to deliver practical controllers for humanoid and prosthetic robots. However, neurocontrollers developed in forward dynamic simulations are seldom applied as practical controllers due to their lack of robustness and adaptability. A key element for robust and adaptive locomotion is swing leg placement. Here we integrate a previously identified robust swing leg controller into a full neuromuscular human walking model and demonstrate that the integrated model has largely improved behaviors including walking on very rough terrain (±10 cm) and stair climbing (15 cm stairs). These initial results highlight the potential of the identified robust swing control. We plan to generalize it to a range of human locomotion behaviors critical in rehabilitation robotics.