TY - JOUR
T1 - Connecting artificial brains to robots in a comprehensive simulation framework
T2 - The neurorobotics platform
AU - Falotico, Egidio
AU - Vannucci, Lorenzo
AU - Ambrosano, Alessandro
AU - Albanese, Ugo
AU - Ulbrich, Stefan
AU - Tieck, Juan Camilo Vasquez
AU - Hinkel, Georg
AU - Kaiser, Jacques
AU - Peric, Igor
AU - Denninger, Oliver
AU - Cauli, Nino
AU - Kirtay, Murat
AU - Roennau, Arne
AU - Klinker, Gudrun
AU - Von Arnim, Axel
AU - Guyot, Luc
AU - Peppicelli, Daniel
AU - Mactinaz-Cañada, Pablo
AU - Ros, Eduardo
AU - Maier, Patrick
AU - Weber, Sandro
AU - Huber, Manuei
AU - Plecher, David
AU - Röhrbein, Florian
AU - Deser, Stefan
AU - Roitberg, Alina
AU - Van Der Smagt, Patrick
AU - Dillman, Rüdiger
AU - Levi, Paul
AU - Laschi, Cecilia
AU - Knoll, Alois C.
AU - Gewaltig, Marc Oliver
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Falotico, Vannucci, Ambrosano, Albanese, Ulbrich, Vasquez Tieck, Hinkel, Kaiser, Peric, Denninger, Cauli, Kirtay, Roennau, Klinker, Von Arnim, Guyot, Peppicelli, Martínez-Cañada, Ros, Maier, Weber, Huber, Plecher, Röhrbein, Deser, Roitberg, van der Smagt, Dillman, Levi, Laschi, Knoll and Gewaltig.
PY - 2017/1/1
Y1 - 2017/1/1
N2 - Combined efforts in the fields of neuroscience, computer science, and biology allowed to design biologically realistic models of the brain based on spiking neural networks. For a proper validation of these models, an embodiment in a dynamic and rich sensory environment, where the model is exposed to a realistic sensory-motor task, is needed. Due to the complexity of these brain models that, at the current stage, cannot deal with real-time constraints, it is not possible to embed them into a real-world task. Rather, the embodiment has to be simulated as well. While adequate tools exist to simulate either complex neural networks or robots and their environments, there is so far no tool that allows to easily establish a communication between brain and body models. The Neurorobotics Platform is a new web-based environment that aims to fill this gap by offering scientists and technology developers a software infrastructure allowing them to connect brain models to detailed simulations of robot bodies and environments and to use the resulting neurorobotic systems for in silico experimentation. In order to simplify the workflow and reduce the level of the required programming skills, the platform provides editors for the specification of experimental sequences and conditions, environments, robots, and brain-body connectors. In addition to that, a variety of existing robots and environments are provided. This work presents the architecture of the first release of the Neurorobotics Platform developed in subproject 10 "Neurorobotics" of the Human Brain Project (HBP).1At the current state, the Neurorobotics Platform allows researchers to design and run basic experiments in neurorobotics using simulated robots and simulated environments linked to simplified versions of brain models. We illustrate the capabilities of the platform with three example experiments: a Braitenberg task implemented on a mobile robot, a sensory-motor learning task based on a robotic controller, and a visual tracking embedding a retina model on the iCub humanoid robot. These use-cases allow to assess the applicability of the Neurorobotics Platform for robotic tasks as well as in neuroscientific experiments.
AB - Combined efforts in the fields of neuroscience, computer science, and biology allowed to design biologically realistic models of the brain based on spiking neural networks. For a proper validation of these models, an embodiment in a dynamic and rich sensory environment, where the model is exposed to a realistic sensory-motor task, is needed. Due to the complexity of these brain models that, at the current stage, cannot deal with real-time constraints, it is not possible to embed them into a real-world task. Rather, the embodiment has to be simulated as well. While adequate tools exist to simulate either complex neural networks or robots and their environments, there is so far no tool that allows to easily establish a communication between brain and body models. The Neurorobotics Platform is a new web-based environment that aims to fill this gap by offering scientists and technology developers a software infrastructure allowing them to connect brain models to detailed simulations of robot bodies and environments and to use the resulting neurorobotic systems for in silico experimentation. In order to simplify the workflow and reduce the level of the required programming skills, the platform provides editors for the specification of experimental sequences and conditions, environments, robots, and brain-body connectors. In addition to that, a variety of existing robots and environments are provided. This work presents the architecture of the first release of the Neurorobotics Platform developed in subproject 10 "Neurorobotics" of the Human Brain Project (HBP).1At the current state, the Neurorobotics Platform allows researchers to design and run basic experiments in neurorobotics using simulated robots and simulated environments linked to simplified versions of brain models. We illustrate the capabilities of the platform with three example experiments: a Braitenberg task implemented on a mobile robot, a sensory-motor learning task based on a robotic controller, and a visual tracking embedding a retina model on the iCub humanoid robot. These use-cases allow to assess the applicability of the Neurorobotics Platform for robotic tasks as well as in neuroscientific experiments.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85012973994&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fnbot.2017.00002
DO - 10.3389/fnbot.2017.00002
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85012973994
SN - 1662-5218
VL - 11
JO - Frontiers in Neurorobotics
JF - Frontiers in Neurorobotics
IS - JAN
ER -