Comparative study of forced oscillators for the adaptive generation of rhythmic movements in robot controllers

The interest of central pattern generators in robot motor coordination is universally recognized so much so that a lot of possibilities on different scales of modeling are nowadays available. While each method obviously has its advantages and drawbacks, some could be more suitable for human–robot interactions. In this paper, we compare three oscillator models: Matsuoka, Hopf and Rowat–Selverston models. These models are integrated to a control architecture for a robotic arm and evaluated in simulation during a simplified handshaking interaction which involves constrained rhythmic movements. Furthermore, Hebbian plasticity mechanisms are integrated to the Hopf and Rowat–Selverston models which can incorporate such mechanisms, contrary to the Matsuoka. Results show that the Matsuoka oscillator is subpar in all aspects and for the two others, that plasticity improves synchronization and leads to a significant decrease in the power consumption.