Development of mountable pulse-type hardware neuron model integrated circuit on MEMS microrobot

Abstract

This paper proposes a pulse-type hardware neuron model (P-HNM) bare chip integrated circuit (IC). And the developed bare chip IC realizes a mountable size on a millimeter scale robot. The P-HNM is mimicking a neural networks of a brain system of the living organisms. The neural networks receive the information as stimulation from the outside at a cell body through an axon, and then, it work to the outside as the response. As a result, the living organisms can respond to the accidental events. Therefore, the application of the neural networks for industrial fields such as a control system will realize the adaptable respond in the future. In this research, the P-HNM is developed for the robot control. A hardware approach can realize a continuously process and nonlinear operations at high speed. And it is realized the miniaturization by integrating the CMOS IC. The developed IC is constructed by a single cell body model circuit and an amplifier circuit. The developed P-HNM circuit is an oscillation circuit characterized by a firing threshold and a refractory period, and produces a continuous pulse similar to the pulses delivered to biological neurons. And it shows the single voltage pulse. The controlled robot is insect-type microrobot that is fabricated by the micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) process. The MEMS microrobot is constructed by leg parts and an impact-type rotary actuator that uses a multilayer ceramic piezoelectric element. The rotational motion is generated by the single voltage pulse. The dimensions of the driving circuit that is including the bare chip IC are 2.9 mm and 4.7 mm, length and width, respectively. The fabricated driving circuit can realize the mountable size to the millimeter scale robot.