Learning to manipulate a whip with simple primitive actions – A simulation study

Summary: This simulation study investigated whether a 4-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) arm could strike a target with a 50-DOF whip using a motion profile similar to discrete human movements. The interactive dynamics of the multi-joint arm was modeled as a constant joint-space mechanical impedance, with v...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Moses C. Nah, Aleksei Krotov, Marta Russo, Dagmar Sternad, Neville Hogan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-08-01
Series:iScience
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004223014724
Description
Summary:Summary: This simulation study investigated whether a 4-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) arm could strike a target with a 50-DOF whip using a motion profile similar to discrete human movements. The interactive dynamics of the multi-joint arm was modeled as a constant joint-space mechanical impedance, with values derived from experimental measurement. Targets at various locations could be hit with a single maximally smooth motion in joint-space coordinates. The arm movements that hit the targets were identified with fewer than 250 iterations. The optimal actions were essentially planar arm motions in extrinsic task-space coordinates, predominantly oriented along the most compliant direction of both task-space and joint-space mechanical impedances. Of the optimal movement parameters, striking a target was most sensitive to movement duration. This result suggests that the elementary actions observed in human motor behavior may support efficient motor control in interaction with a dynamically complex object.
ISSN:2589-0042