Computational Neuroscience and Biorobotics: Biorobotics Program

This program aims to discover the principles of control, sensorimotor integration and biomechanics that underlie the agility, quietness, dexterity and intelligence of swimming and flying biological systems. We seek to understand the robust dynamically stable locomotion of legged animals in unknown terrestrial and aquatic environments and to formalize these principles to facilitate engineering invention and design. The program seeks to build a bridge between the science of biology and the art of Naval engineering by laying emphasis on the distillation of science in biology and the implementation of the kernel of it on existing Navy products to make significant gains in performance via novel inventions.

Research proposals are expected to meld biology and engineering. Of particular interest are the following areas: (a) Interdisciplinary research on biology-based high-lift mechanisms and their incorporation on to existing Navy products like propulsors; (b) Principles of neural control and hybrid systems for biological and biology-based high-lift devices and system conceptualization, analysis and integration of biology-inspired high-lift mechanisms, artificial-muscle based actuators and their neural control for the development of advanced underwater vehicles and microflying vehicles; (c) Research on the neurobiological mechanisms and principles of control of fish pectoral fins, including closed loop control from biosensors; and (d) Visual guidance and sensorimotor integration for legged (especially bipedal robots) or wheeled robots that support human robot interaction.

Resources

• ONR Autonomous Systems Program (Code 311)
• ONR Ocean Engineering and Marine Systems (Code 321)
• ONR Deployable Autonomous Systems (Code 321)