Dynamic patterns of sensorimotor behavior: Biological control structures and constraints

Abstract

As the number of applications in prosthetics and robotics increases, so does the need to design and control articulated end-effectors (arms and hands) that can function adaptively in changing environments. Recent theoretical and experimental insights into understanding complex sensorimotor behavior in humans suggest possible solutions to the problem of achieving stable, yet flexible control. Using the dynamic pattern strategy, we show how the intrinsic dynamics for these patterns can be found, and how such information may be used to destabilize one pattern and switch it into another.