Towards neuromorphic control: A spiking neural network based PID controller for UAV

In this work, we present a spiking neural network (SNN) based PID controller on a neuromorphic chip. On-chip SNNs are currently being explored in low-power AI applications. Due to potentially ultra-low power consumption, low latency, and high processing speed, on-chip SNNs are a promising tool for control of power-constrained platforms, such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). To obtain highly efficient and fast end-to-end neuromorphic controllers, the SNN-based AI architectures must be seamlessly integrated with motor control. Towards this goal, we present here the first implementation of a fully neuromorphic PID controller. We interfaced Intel’s neuromorphic research chip Loihi to a UAV, constrained to a single degree of freedom. We developed an SNN control architecture using populations of spiking neurons, in which each spike carries information about the measured, control, or error value, defined by the identity of the spiking neuron. Using this sparse code, we realize a precise PID controller. The P, I, and D gains of the controller are implemented as synaptic weights that can adapt according to an on-chip plasticity rule. In future work, these plastic synapses can be used to tune and adapt the controller autonomously.