In mobile robotics, a solid test for adaptation is the ability of a control system to function not only in a diverse number of physical environments, but also on a number of different robotic platforms. This paper dem...
详细信息
In mobile robotics, a solid test for adaptation is the ability of a control system to function not only in a diverse number of physical environments, but also on a number of different robotic platforms. This paper demonstrates that a set of behaviours evolved in simulation on a miniature robot (epuck) can be transferred to a much larger-scale platform (Pioneer), both in simulation and in the real world. The chosen architecture uses artificial evolution of epuck behaviours to obtain a genetic sequence, which is then employed to seed an idiotypic, artificial immune system (AIS) on the Pioneers. Despite numerous hardware and software differences between the platforms, navigation and target-finding experiments show that the evolved behaviours transfer very well to the larger robot when the idiotypic AIS technique is used. In contrast, transferability is poor when reinforcement learning alone is used, which validates the adaptability of the chosen architecture.
This article describes a robotic system which uses evolution to continuously adapt a group of heterogeneous robots to their current environment while assigning tasks to these robots using an endocrine-based system. Th...
详细信息
This article describes a robotic system which uses evolution to continuously adapt a group of heterogeneous robots to their current environment while assigning tasks to these robots using an endocrine-based system. The tasks are allocated dependent on the robots' current ability to perform the task and whether the task is being done by another robot. A series of experiments is presented taking the work from an evolutionary training phase, through simulation trials, to experiments on real robots. The real robot trials show task swapping dependent on the robots' ability to perform each task.
Autonomous systems are the result of self-sustaining processes of constitution of an identity under precarious circumstances. They may transit through different modes of dynamical engagement with their environment, fr...
详细信息
Autonomous systems are the result of self-sustaining processes of constitution of an identity under precarious circumstances. They may transit through different modes of dynamical engagement with their environment, from committed ongoing coping to open susceptibility to external demands. This paper discusses these two statements and presents examples of models of autonomous behaviour using methods in evolutionary robotics. A model of an agent capable of issuing self-instructions demonstrates the fragility of modelling, autonomy as a function rather than as a property of a system's organization. An alternative model of behavioural preference based on homeostatic adaptation avoids this problem by establishing a mutual constraining between lower-level processes (neural dynamics and sensorimotor interaction) and higher-level metadynamics (experience-dependent, homeostatic triggering of local plasticity and re-organization). The results of these models are lessons about how strong autonomy should be approached: neither as a function, nor as a matter of external vs. internal determination. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Most animals exhibit significant neurological and morphological change throughout their lifetime. No robots to date, however, grow new morphological structure while behaving. This is due to technological limitations b...
详细信息
Most animals exhibit significant neurological and morphological change throughout their lifetime. No robots to date, however, grow new morphological structure while behaving. This is due to technological limitations but also because it is unclear that morphological change provides a benefit to the acquisition of robust behavior in machines. Here I show that in evolving populations of simulated robots, if robots grow from anguilliform into legged robots during their lifetime in the early stages of evolution, and the anguilliform body plan is gradually lost during later stages of evolution, gaits are evolved for the final, legged form of the robot more rapidly-and the evolved gaits are more robust-compared to evolving populations of legged robots that do not transition through the anguilliform body plan. This suggests that morphological change, as well as the evolution of development, are two important processes that improve the automatic generation of robust behaviors for machines. It also provides an experimental platform for investigating the relationship between the evolution of development and robust behavior in biological organisms.
We introduce FARSA, an open-source Framework for Autonomous robotics Simulation and Analysis, that allows us to easily set up and carry on adaptive experiments involving complex robot/environmental models. Moreover, w...
详细信息
We introduce FARSA, an open-source Framework for Autonomous robotics Simulation and Analysis, that allows us to easily set up and carry on adaptive experiments involving complex robot/environmental models. Moreover, we show how a simulated iCub robot can be trained, through an evolutionary algorithm, to display reaching and integrated reaching and grasping behaviours. The results demonstrate how the use of an implicit selection criterion, estimating the extent to which the robot is able to produce the expected outcome without specifying the manner through which the action should be realized, is sufficient to develop the required capabilities despite the complexity of the robot and of the task.
This article rigorously characterizes the structure of the entire fitness space of a simple neuromechanical system consisting of a model leg in closed-loop interaction with a neural controller. Using tools from the th...
详细信息
This article rigorously characterizes the structure of the entire fitness space of a simple neuromechanical system consisting of a model leg in closed-loop interaction with a neural controller. Using tools from the theory of piecewise-smooth dynamical systems, we derive expressions for the location and layout of the region of high-fitness solutions in parameter space, and we show how both the boundary and the internal structure of this region arise from specific neural, mechanical, and neuromechanical properties of the walking system. In addition, we characterize the structure of the map from neural parameters to gaits to fitness.
A major facet of multi-legged robot control is locomotion. Each leg must move in such a manner that it efficiently produces thrust and provides maximum support. The motion of all the legs must be coordinated so that t...
详细信息
A major facet of multi-legged robot control is locomotion. Each leg must move in such a manner that it efficiently produces thrust and provides maximum support. The motion of all the legs must be coordinated so that they are working together to provide constant stability while propelling the robot forward. In this paper, we discuss the use of a cyclic genetic algorithm (CGA) to evolve control programs that produce gaits for actual hexapod robots. Tests done in simulation and verified on the actual robot show that the CGA successfully produces gaits for both fully capable and disabled robots.
This article describes a simulation model in which artificial evolution is used to design homogeneous control structures and adaptive communication protocols for a group of three autonomous simulated robots. The agent...
详细信息
This article describes a simulation model in which artificial evolution is used to design homogeneous control structures and adaptive communication protocols for a group of three autonomous simulated robots. The agents are required to cooperate in order to approach a light source while avoiding collisions. The robots are morphologically different: Two of them are equipped with infrared sensors, one with light sensors. Thus, the two morphologically identical robots should take care of obstacle avoidance;the other one should take care of phototaxis. Since all of the agents can emit and perceive sound, the groups coordination of actions is based on acoustic communication. The results of this study are a proof of concept: They show that dynamic artificial neural networks can be successfully synthesized by artificial evolution to design the neural mechanisms required to underpin the behavioral strategies and adaptive communication capabilities demanded by this task. Postevaluation analyses unveil operational aspects of the best evolved behavior. Our results suggest that the building blocks and the evolutionary machinery detailed in the article should be considered in future research work dealing with the design of homogeneous controllers for groups of heterogeneous cooperating and communicating robots.
In this paper, we compare Bayesian Optimization, Differential Evolution, and an Evolution Strategy employed as a gait-learning algorithm in modular robots. The motivational scenario is the joint evolution of morpholog...
详细信息
In this paper, we compare Bayesian Optimization, Differential Evolution, and an Evolution Strategy employed as a gait-learning algorithm in modular robots. The motivational scenario is the joint evolution of morphologies and controllers, where "newborn" robots also undergo a learning process to optimize their inherited controllers (without changing their bodies). This context raises the question: How do gait-learning algorithms compare when applied to various morphologies that are not known in advance (and thus need to be treated as without priors)? To answer this question, we use a test suite of twenty different robot morphologies to evaluate our gait-learners and compare their efficiency, efficacy, and sensitivity to morphological differences. The results indicate that Bayesian Optimization and Differential Evolution deliver the same solution quality (walking speed for the robot) with fewer evaluations than the Evolution Strategy. Furthermore, the Evolution Strategy is more sensitive for morphological differences (its efficacy varies more between different morphologies) and is more subject to luck (repeated runs on the same morphology show greater variance in the outcomes).
Discusses capabilities of biologically inspired intelligent robots using artificial muscles. Types of available electroactive polymer materials; Evolution of the filed of biomimetic robots and its results; Significanc...
详细信息
Discusses capabilities of biologically inspired intelligent robots using artificial muscles. Types of available electroactive polymer materials; Evolution of the filed of biomimetic robots and its results; Significance of robots in the field of engineering and science.
暂无评论