Reach Space Analysis of Baseline Differential Extrinsic Plasticity Control

Simon Birrell; Arsen Abdulali; Fumiya Iida

doi:10.3389/fnbot.2022.848084

Reach Space Analysis of Baseline Differential Extrinsic Plasticity Control

Front Neurorobot. 2022 Jun 1:16:848084. doi: 10.3389/fnbot.2022.848084. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Simon Birrell¹, Arsen Abdulali¹, Fumiya Iida¹

Affiliation

¹ Bio-Inspired Robotics Laboratory, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Abstract

The neuroplasticity rule Differential Extrinsic Plasticity (DEP) has been studied in the context of goal-free simulated agents, producing realistic-looking, environmentally-aware behaviors, but no successful control mechanism has yet been implemented for intentional behavior. The goal of this paper is to determine if "short-circuited DEP," a simpler, open-loop variant can generate desired trajectories in a robot arm. DEP dynamics, both transient and limit cycles are poorly understood. Experiments were performed to elucidate these dynamics and test the ability of a robot to leverage these dynamics for target reaching and circular motions.

Keywords: Differential Extrinsic Plasticity; complexity; intrinsic motivation; neuroplasticity; play; reinforcement learning; robotic control; self-organization.