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Control Systems Society [CS023]
Robotics and Automation; and Control Systems Societies
6:00 PM, Tuesday, 16 September
CONTROLLING BIOMIMETIC UNDERWATER ROBOTS WITH ELECTRONIC NERVOUS SYSTEMS
Dr. Joseph Ayers, Professor of Biology, Department of Biology and Marine Science Center, Northeastern University, http://www.neurotechnology.neu.edu/ayers.html, lobster@neu.edu
Prof. Ayers has been developing biomimetic robots based on neurobiological model systems, the lobster and the lamprey. Existing implementations of these robots are based on finite state machine based controllers that instantiate a set of finite state machines based on the organizational units of the animal model nervous systems. These state machines include leg or body axis central pattern generators (CPGs) that generate leg movements or undulations, postural pattern generators that control compensatory appendages and/or adaptive sensors and sensory integration networks that process sensor information. The use of neuron models instead of finite state systems allows one to replicate in great detail the real behavior of the neurobiological system (a network) and, thanks to spiking nature of the models, provides a link between the control functions and the experimental measurements from the animal. The key feature of these models is that because they are based on capturing of nonlinear dynamical behavior of neurons rather than neuronal conductance models, they are simpler, can operate in real time and are thus suitable for robotic control applications.
Prof. Joseph Ayers earned his BA degree in biology at the University of California at Riverside, and a Ph.D., also in biology, at the University of California at Santa Cruz. He held postdoctoral positions in neurophysiology at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Marseilles, France, and at the University of California in San Diego. Prof. Ayers was Alfred E. Sloan Foundation Fellow at the Department of Biology, Northeastern University, and subsequently Director of the NEU's Marine Science Center. In this capacity he oversaw the operations and programs of the Marine Science Center, the associated research vessels and the East/West Marine Biology Program. He is currently Full Professor of Biology at the NEU's Department of Biology and Marine Science Center in Boston and East Point, Nahant, MA. Prof. Ayers is the author of numerous books, articles, patents and software programs; his research has also attracted considerable interest in the popular media.
Prof. Ayers' primary interest is the neurobiology of motor systems in invertebrates and lower vertebrates, and the application of this knowledge to the development of advanced robots and neuroprostheses. He has developed technology to record motor patterns and signals in animals, reproduce them in robots (biomimesis) and study the resulting behavior. He is currently focusing on electronic nervous systems to control these robots based on analog VLSI and discrete-time map based instantiations of nonlinear dynamical models of neurons.
The Boston Chapters of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and the IEEE Control Systems Society will meet at the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, Olin Way, Needham, MA 02492, http://www.olin.edu/ on Tuesday, September 16, 2008, for an informal discussion at 6:00 PM and the presentation at 6:30.
Directions to Olin College: Take Route 95/128 to exit 19B (Highland Avenue, Needham). Follow Highland Avenue for 1.5 miles to a three-way intersection with Chapel and May Streets; bear slight right onto Chapel Street (to the right of the gas station). Take a right at the first light onto Great Plain Avenue/Rte 135. Proceed on Great Plain Avenue for 1.5 miles and the Olin College campus will be on the right. Enter the campus at Olin Way and follow the road around to the left to parking lot A, which provides access to all campus buildings. From the parking lot take the walkway across the traffic circle to Milas Hall and proceed to the Auditorium inside. For a campus map, please refer to: http://www.olin.edu/campus/campus_map.asp
After the meeting, at approx. 8:00 PM, the group will have a no-host dinner at Bertucci's, 1257 Highland Ave., Needham, MA 02492, where more conversations can take place with the guest speaker. Driving directions from Olin College to Bertucci's: Backtrack the previous route on Great Plain Avenue, Chapel St. to Highland Avenue. The restaurant will be located inside a plaza on the left, about 600 ft past the three-way intersection with Chapel and May Streets.
The meetings are open to the general public, and all are welcome at the dinner afterwards. For more information about the Robotics and Automation Society, contact Chapter Chair Peter Meyer at (781) 334-0052 or info@robotics-boston.org or visit http://www.robotics-boston.org/. For more information about the Control Systems Society, contact Chapter Chair Tony Pandiscio at (978) 858-4923 or Alfred_A_Pandiscio@raytheon.com.
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Updated: August 18, 2008.