Modulation Steering Motion by Quantitative Electrical Stimulation in Pigeon Robots

Abstract

The pigeon robot has attracted significant attention in the field of animal robotics thanks to its outstanding mobility and adaptive capability in complex environments. However, research on pigeon robots is currently facing bottlenecks, and achieving fine control over the motion behavior of pigeon robots through brain–machine interfaces remains challenging. Here, we systematically quantify the relationship between electrical stimulation and stimulus-induced motion behaviors, and provide an analytical method to demonstrate the effectiveness of pigeon robots based on electrical stimulation. In this study, we investigated the influence of gradient voltage intensity (1.2–3.0 V) on the indoor steering motion control of pigeon robots. Additionally, we discussed the response time of electrical stimulation and the effective period of the brain–machine interface. The results indicate that pigeon robots typically exhibit noticeable behavioral responses at a 2.0 V voltage stimulus. Increasing the stimulation intensity significantly controls the steering angle and turning radius (p < 0.05), enabling precise control of pigeon robot steering motion through stimulation intensity regulation. When the threshold voltage is reached, the average response time of a pigeon robot to the electrical stimulation is 220 ms. This study quantifies the role of each stimulation parameter in controlling pigeon robot steering behavior, providing valuable reference information for the precise steering control of pigeon robots. Based on these findings, we offer a solution for achieving precise control of pigeon robot steering motion and contribute to solving the problem of encoding complex trajectory motion in pigeon robots.