Growth and repair: Instantiating a biologically inspired model of neuronal development on the Khepera robot

Activity-dependent, developmental synaptic plasticity permits, in part, an animal’s nervous system to be constructed in a way that depends on both the animal’s experiences and its body’s particular morphology. The continuing expression of this plasticity into later life allows constant adaptation of the animal’s nervous system to changes in the animal’s body as it grows and ages, also allowing some recovery from major injury. We instantiate a previously studied model of such neuronal development on a robotic platform to establish whether “developmental robotics” can equip a robot with a nervous system tuned to the robot’s individual morphology and that allows recovery from damage.