Tag Archives: Neural Networks
Robo-lobster
Joseph Ayers has a thing for lobsters. He likes to cook them, eat them, and build them. In his book, “Dr. Ayers Cooks With Cognac” he describes several creative lobster recipes from Cajun to Mediterranean and everything in between. His favorite way to eat a lobster is simply dipping the meat in butter accompanied with a glass of chardonnay. And, when it comes to building robot lobsters, he prefers the kind that can wander the sea floor searching for mines.
A biologist and neuroscientist, Dr. Ayers developed his robo-lobster at Northeastern University between 1999 and 2002 with funding from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Working from Northeastern’s Marine Science Center at East Point in Nahant, Massachusetts, Ayers looked to real-life lobsters for inspiration. He notes that lobsters are at the top of the food chain in their environment and so have a good built-in seek-and-destroy mechanism.
His robots are controlled with artificial neural networks, which are used to make subtle decisions such as whether to walk over or around a rock. When it comes to tweaking the design, Ayers always went back to the original, studying the behavior of living lobsters, trying to replicate their behavior. The plastic antennas sense obstacles, the eight legs can propel it in any direction, and the claws and tail keep it stable in turbulent water.
The robo-lobster’s actuators are controlled by Nitinol, otherwise known as “muscle wire”. Nitinol can change shape when a current is passed through it, making it more life-like and less “robotic”. Also, Ayers’ neural networks use Central Pattern Generators (CPGs), specialized neural circuits found in all animal brains that automatically generate a rhythmic patterns. The CPG acts as the source for the robots pattern of locomotion.
The robo-lobster is an excellent example of biomimicry, where ideas from nature are incorporated into robotic designs, however, a practical mission for the robo-lobster has yet to be demonstrated. In addition to finding mines, Ayers notes that it might also be used to measure pollution levels on the ocean floor. The robo-lobster was put on display at the Cooper-Hewitt museum in New York in 2007 as part of its “Design Life Now” exhibit. It was also named one of the Coolest Inventions of 2003 by Time Magazine.
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