M. Anthony Lewis

About

M. Anthony Lewis is a pioneering roboticist whose research spans cooperative mobile robotics, biologically inspired locomotion control, and autonomous systems. He is perhaps best known for developing the **virtual structures** framework for multi-robot formation control, a concept that treats robot ensembles as particles embedded in a rigid body to achieve precise geometric coordination during movement. His 1997 paper on this topic has accumulated over 1,000 citations, establishing it as a landmark contribution to the cooperative robotics literature. Beyond formation control, Lewis has made substantial contributions to biomorphic locomotion, exploring how central pattern generators (CPGs)—neural circuits underlying rhythmic animal movement—can be implemented in custom hardware and applied to walking, hexapod, and high-speed quadruped robots. His use of genetic algorithms and genetic programming to evolve neural motor pattern generators reflects a deeply interdisciplinary approach, bridging neuroscience, evolutionary computation, and robotics engineering. Notably, his speculative work on nanorobot swarms for targeted cancer therapy demonstrates a forward-looking vision extending well beyond conventional platforms. With research touching human locomotion biomechanics and ultra-high-speed cheetah-inspired robots, Lewis's career exemplifies the productive intersection of biological principles and cutting-edge robotic design.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   High Precision Formation Control of Mobile Robots Using Virtual Structures

   1,063 citations · 1997
2. 2
   Virtual structures for high-precision cooperative mobile robotic control

   263 citations · 2002
3. 3
   Genetic programming approach to the construction of a neural network for control of a walking robot

   170 citations · 2003
4. 4
   Strategies and determinants for selection of alternate foot placement during human locomotion: influence of spatial and temporal constraints

   85 citations · 2004
5. 5
   Gait Adaptation in a Quadruped Robot

   82 citations · 2002
6. 6
   The Behavioral Self-organization Of Nanorobots Using Local Rules

   78 citations · 2005
7. 7
   Toward biomorphic control using custom aVLSI CPG chips

   74 citations · 2002
8. 8
   CPG Design using Inhibitory Networks

   59 citations · 2006
9. 9
   GENETIC ALGORITHMS FOR GAIT SYNTHESIS IN A HEXAPOD ROBOT

   45 citations · 1994
10. 10
    Toward Ultra High Speed Locomotors: Design and test of a cheetah robot hind limb

    42 citations · 2011

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links