research-article

SoftCon: simulation and control of soft-bodied animals with biomimetic actuators

Authors:

Jehee LeeAuthors Info & Claims

ACM Transactions on Graphics (TOG), Volume 38, Issue 6

Article No.: 208, Pages 1 - 12

https://doi.org/10.1145/3355089.3356497

Published: 08 November 2019 Publication History

Abstract

We present a novel and general framework for the design and control of underwater soft-bodied animals. The whole body of an animal consisting of soft tissues is modeled by tetrahedral and triangular FEM meshes. The contraction of muscles embedded in the soft tissues actuates the body and limbs to move. We present a novel muscle excitation model that mimics the anatomy of muscular hydrostats and their muscle excitation patterns. Our deep reinforcement learning algorithm equipped with the muscle excitation model successfully learned the control policy of soft-bodied animals, which can be physically simulated in real-time, controlled interactively, and resilient to external perturbations. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach with various simulated animals including octopuses, lampreys, starfishes, stingrays and cuttlefishes. They learn diverse behaviors such as swimming, grasping, and escaping from a bottle. We also implemented a simple user interface system that allows the user to easily create their creatures.

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Cited By

Zabello KTschur NGordleeva SSmirnova EPopov AKazantsev V(2025)Course control in a self-consistent model of cuttlefish movementCommunications in Nonlinear Science and Numerical Simulation10.1016/j.cnsns.2024.108417140(108417)Online publication date: Jan-2025
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cnsns.2024.108417
Park GHwang JKwon T(2025)Sample-efficient reference-free control strategy for multi-legged locomotionComputers & Graphics10.1016/j.cag.2024.104141126(104141)Online publication date: Feb-2025
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cag.2024.104141
Zhao ZWu QWang JZhang BZhong CZhilenkov A(2024)Exploring Embodied Intelligence in Soft Robotics: A ReviewBiomimetics10.3390/biomimetics90402489:4(248)Online publication date: 19-Apr-2024
https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics9040248
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Index Terms

SoftCon: simulation and control of soft-bodied animals with biomimetic actuators
1. Computing methodologies
  1. Computer graphics
    1. Animation
      1. Physical simulation
    2. Shape modeling
      1. Volumetric models
  2. Machine learning
    1. Learning paradigms
      1. Reinforcement learning

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Published In

cover image ACM Transactions on Graphics

ACM Transactions on Graphics Volume 38, Issue 6

December 2019

1292 pages

ISSN:0730-0301

EISSN:1557-7368

DOI:10.1145/3355089

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Copyright © 2019 ACM.

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Publication History

Published: 08 November 2019

Published in TOG Volume 38, Issue 6

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Cited By

Zabello KTschur NGordleeva SSmirnova EPopov AKazantsev V(2025)Course control in a self-consistent model of cuttlefish movementCommunications in Nonlinear Science and Numerical Simulation10.1016/j.cnsns.2024.108417140(108417)Online publication date: Jan-2025
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cnsns.2024.108417
Park GHwang JKwon T(2025)Sample-efficient reference-free control strategy for multi-legged locomotionComputers & Graphics10.1016/j.cag.2024.104141126(104141)Online publication date: Feb-2025
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cag.2024.104141
Zhao ZWu QWang JZhang BZhong CZhilenkov A(2024)Exploring Embodied Intelligence in Soft Robotics: A ReviewBiomimetics10.3390/biomimetics90402489:4(248)Online publication date: 19-Apr-2024
https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics9040248
Lin Y(2024)Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Simulation Research on Intelligent Behavior of Film and Television 3D Animation CharactersApplied Mathematics and Nonlinear Sciences10.2478/amns-2024-32919:1Online publication date: 18-Nov-2024
https://doi.org/10.2478/amns-2024-3291
Chen GYu WWu YZheng J(2024)Design and optimization of soft colonoscopy robot with variable cross sectionCobot10.12688/cobot.17677.13(4)Online publication date: 24-Apr-2024
https://doi.org/10.12688/cobot.17677.1
Benchekroun OXie KLiu HGrinspun EAndrews SZordan V(2024)Actuators A La Mode: Modal Actuations for Soft Body LocomotionSIGGRAPH Asia 2024 Conference Papers10.1145/3680528.3687638(1-10)Online publication date: 3-Dec-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3680528.3687638
Soliman YPadilla MGross OKnöppel FPinkall USchröder P(2024)Going with the FlowACM Transactions on Graphics10.1145/365816443:4(1-12)Online publication date: 19-Jul-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3658164
Wu KHe XWang YLiu X(2024)Multi-Level Progressive Reinforcement Learning for Control Policy in Physical Simulations2024 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)10.1109/ICRA57147.2024.10610992(9502-9508)Online publication date: 13-May-2024
https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA57147.2024.10610992
Yin YCheng MLi ZGuan YSu M(2024)Bioinspired deformation computational design method for muscle-driven soft robots using MPMBioinspiration & Biomimetics10.1088/1748-3190/ad7081Online publication date: 16-Aug-2024
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Zhao MWang NJiang XMa XMa HHe GDu KMa LHuang T(2024)An integrative data-driven model simulating C. elegans brain, body and environment interactionsNature Computational Science10.1038/s43588-024-00738-w4:12(978-990)Online publication date: 16-Dec-2024
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