Artificial plateau neurons with in-situ spike-malleability for rhythmic quadrupedal locomotion

Whole-body intelligent locomotion systems face persistent challenges of redundant actuation and poor energy efficiency, limiting real-world deployment. Bio-inspired central pattern generators offer a promising framework for rhythmic control, yet hardware implementations struggle to match the efficiency and adaptability of biological systems. Here, we introduce an in-situ spike-malleable artificial plateau neuron integrating a bistable plateau gate with a transient threshold-switch. The neuron generates amplitude-programmable rhythmic spike bursts, achieving energy-efficient, antagonistic activation of extensors and flexors via a scalable circuit comprising two paired units (plateau gate and threshold-switch). The design leverages distributed encoding for coordinated muscle control, operating at ultra-low energy dissipation (141.37 pJ/spike). An expanded four-unit circuit enhances dynamic spike malleability, enabling parallel processing for multi-joint coordination. On a quadruped robot (Unitree Go2), these distributed circuits directly drive joint-level proportional derivative controllers using the Gaussian-filtered rhythmic spikes, enabling energy-efficient trotting without centralized computation. Critically, the system achieves stable on-ground locomotion and demonstrates adaptive gait transitions in real-world environments. Our approach merges ultra-compact hardware with bio-inspired architecture, advancing neuromorphic systems for energy-efficient autonomous robotics.