Bio-mimetic Control of Mobile Robots Based on a Model of Bacterial Chemotaxis

This paper proposes a new control method of mobile robots based on a model of bacterial chemotaxis including not only intracellular information processing but also motor control on the basis of the molecular evidence. E. coli is chosen as a target bacterium, which has a simple molecular structure and is amenable to biochemical and genetic analysis. First, a computer model of the chmotaxis is developed to simulate its emergence. Parameters included in the model are regulated using the genetic algorithm in such a way that a fitness representing the chemotactic ability is maximized. Then, using a mobile robot incorporated this chemotactic model, experiments of trajectory generation are preformed, and it is confirmed that the mobile robot can be controlled based on the bacterial model.