{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T01:07:59Z","timestamp":1760144879413,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,24]],"date-time":"2024-05-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1716508800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"PRIN 2022 research project of the Italian Ministry of University and Research titled Org(SB-EAI)","award":["20222HHXAX","J95F21002830001"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["20222HHXAX","J95F21002830001"]}]},{"name":"Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia","award":["20222HHXAX","J95F21002830001"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["20222HHXAX","J95F21002830001"]}]},{"name":"Programma Nazionale della Ricerca (PNR)","award":["20222HHXAX","J95F21002830001"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["20222HHXAX","J95F21002830001"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Recent technological advances have made it possible to produce tiny robots equipped with simple sensors and effectors. Micro-robots are particularly suitable for scenarios such as exploration of hostile environments, and emergency intervention, e.g., in areas subject to earthquakes or fires. A crucial desirable feature of such a robot is the capability of adapting to the specific environment in which it has to operate. Given the limited computational capabilities of a micro-robot, this property cannot be achieved by complicated software but it rather should come from the flexibility of simple control mechanisms, such as the sensory\u2013motor loop. In this work, we explore the possibility of equipping simple robots controlled by Boolean networks with the capability of modulating their sensory\u2013motor loop such that their behavior adapts to the incumbent environmental conditions. This study builds upon the cybernetic concept of homeostasis, which is the property of maintaining essential parameters inside vital ranges, and analyzes the performance of adaptive mechanisms intervening in the sensory\u2013motor loop. In particular, we focus on the possibility of maneuvering the robot\u2019s effectors such that both their connections to network nodes and environmental features can be adapted. As the actions the robot takes have a feedback effect to its sensors mediated by the environment, this mechanism makes it possible to tune the sensory\u2013motor loop, which, in turn, determines the robot\u2019s behavior. We study this general setting in simulation and assess to what extent this mechanism can sustain the homeostasis of the robot. Our results show that controllers made of random Boolean networks in critical and chaotic regimes can be tuned such that their homeostasis in different environments is kept. This outcome is a step towards the design and deployment of controllers for micro-robots able to adapt to different environments.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s24113393","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,24]],"date-time":"2024-05-24T11:17:52Z","timestamp":1716549472000},"page":"3393","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Sensory\u2013Motor Loop Adaptation in Boolean Network Robots"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"24","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2335-2514","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michele","family":"Braccini","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-8602-3552","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yuri","family":"Gardinazzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mathematics, Informatics and Geosciences, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy"},{"name":"AREA Science Park, 34149 Trieste, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Physics, Informatics and Mathematics, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9891-5441","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrea","family":"Roli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy"},{"name":"European Centre for Living Technology, 30123 Venice, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5991-5470","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marco","family":"Villani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physics, Informatics and Mathematics, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy"},{"name":"European Centre for Living Technology, 30123 Venice, Italy"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pfeifer, R., and Bongard, J. 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