Hierarchical neural network model for voluntary movement with application to robotics

Abstract
In order to control voluntary movements, the central nervous system must solve the following three computational problems at different levels: determination of a desired trajectory in the visual coordinates; transformation of the trajectory from visual coordinates to body coordinates; and generation of motor commands. Based on physiological information and previous models, computational theories are proposed for the first two problems, and a hierarchical neural network model is introduced to deal with motor commands. The application of this approach to robotics is outlined.< >