Computational Control in Neurorobotics

Dear Colleagues,

One of the aims of neurorobotics is to foster a synergistic connection between humans and robots. This connection can be achieved by establishing bidirectional communication between the human nervous system and robots. In this scenario, special emphasis is placed on finding the most efficient approach and technology to stimulate the central or peripheral nervous systems. Several research works have been devoted to restoring sensory information in amputee subjects to aid in the therapeutical treatment of different pathologies and provide alternative techniques to pharmacological treatments, as well as the use of sensory feedback restoration for enhancing robot control.

Computational models are efficient tools that can be adopted to study the effects of different types of stimulation techniques and applied to both the central and peripheral nervous systems. The use of computational models brings several advantages, as they can be used to help reduce experimental animal testing or estimate the optimal conditions to perform experiments in, especially with respect to invasive solutions.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collate the most recent studies on the different stimulation strategies applied to the central and peripheral nervous systems in the context of computational models to improve the control of robotic devices. Potential topics include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Stimulation strategies for healthcare robotics;
• Computational modeling of the peripheral nervous system;
• Peripheral nerve stimulation of the upper extremities;
• Peripheral nerve stimulation of the lower extremities;
• Peripheral nerve stimulation to treat pain;
• Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) to restore sensing;
• Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) to restore sensory feedback;
• Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) to restore sensing and treat neurological impairment and neurological and psychological disorders;
• Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS);
• Nerve stimulation for therapy;
• Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS);
• Closed-loop human–machine interfaces for rehabilitation robotics;
• Closed-loop human–machine interfaces for assistive robotics.

Dr. Francesca Cordella
Guest Editor

Dr. Mattia Stefano
Guest Editor Assistant

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• computational modeling
• nervous system stimulation strategies
• bidirectional communication between humans and robots
• closed-loop human-machine interfaces
• finite element methods
• sensory feedback restoration