A Bio-inspired Architecture of a Motor Neuron System for Virtual Creatures: Movement of a Single Limb with a Single Muscle

This paper presents the simulation of a limb movement generated by a muscle contraction that is controlled by the activation of a pool of motor neurons. The muscle contraction is carried out by the transmission of action potentials that are produced in the lower motor neurons, which are located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord. The simulator has an editor in which the user designs a motor command that is composed of the number of motor neurons that will be activated during the simulation. This model gives us the ability to modify the force exerted by the muscle for the movement of the limb, depending on the number of the active neurons. The movement is performed online, that is, the motion is observed at the time at which the signals reach the muscle.