Actuating mechanical arms coupled to an array of FitzHugh-Nagumo neuron circuits

The paper is aimed at mimicking the motion of myriapods by using an array of mechanical arms coupled to an array of FitzHugh-Nagumo (FN) neuron circuits. The differential equation depicting the electromechanical system is achieved by using Kirchhoff's and Newton's laws. The system parameters are sensitive to the stability of the system as shown by numerical simulations such that for different ranges of the stimulation current, the array of the FN neuron circuit coupled to a single mechanical arm is either in the non-excitable state, excitable state or in the oscillatory state. For the values of the stimulation current in the excitable state, an action potential (AP) achieved produced an excitation greater enough to actuate significantly the mechanical leg. In the excitable state, the action of the magnetic signal on the single mechanical arm increases the amplitude of the instantaneous displacement of the legs. The array of the coupled electromechanical system in the excitable state produces an AP for the different values of the legs having the same behavior as shown by numerical simulations, which implied that neurons communicate without loss of amplitude when in the permanent regime. This behavior is similar to the instantaneous displacement of the mechanical legs, hence depicting the straightforward motion of myriapods without rotation. Finally, the velocities of the propagation of nerve impulses and that of the displacement of legs are quantitatively the same.

Automated summary

This paper successfully mimics the motion of myriapods by using a combination of mechanical arms and neural circuits. Through numerical simulations, it is found that the neural circuits can be coupled to the mechanical arms and exhibit different states of motion. The communication between neurons does not lose amplitude when they are in the excitable state, similar to the motion of the mechanical legs.