Enhancing adaptability of amoeboid robot by synergetically coupling two decentralized controllers inspired by true slime mold

Abstract

Autonomous decentralized control is a key concept for understanding the adaptive and versatile behaviors of living systems. To establish a design methodology for such a controller for robotic systems, we have proposed a fully decentralized control system, inspired by biochemical oscillators in true slime mold ( Physarum polycephalum), which allows a modular robot to exhibit adaptive and versatile behaviors. However, in real living systems, many adaptation mechanisms with different time constants co-exist without conflict in the body (e.g., reflex, learning, growth and evolution); this contributes to the amazingly resilient and intelligent behaviors of living systems. It is well known that in true slime mold, long time-scale morphological changes coexist with the oscillatory behavior stemming from biochemical oscillators. In the present study, we have designed a mathematical model and real physical robot in which two decentralized controllers are incorporated. Numerical and experimental results show that by combining the controllers with different time constants, a robot can use the proposed model to successfully negotiate a narrow aisle by deforming its body shape dynamically.