Light-Controlled Switching of Gait Patterns in a Central Pattern Generator: Circuit Design and Emulation

Central pattern generators (CPGs) are a subject of great interest in the fields of bio-inspired circuits and robotics. They enable the generation of rhythmic patterns, which are involved in the control of locomotion. This paper presents an electrical model of a self-organized CPG with the ability of switching between different gait patterns based on external light signals. Here, we introduce leaky FitzHugh-Nagumo oscillators to mimic the basic functionality of pacemaker neurons with reciprocal inhibition. Furthermore, we introduce a novel wiring mechanism utilizing light-responsive conductances to allow for the production of different gait patterns through dynamic topology formation. A wave digital (WD) model is derived for emulation and testing and we provide results to demonstrate the light-dependent switching between gait patterns.