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Evolutionary
Robotics
Stefano Nolfi, Dario Floreano
Evolutionary robotics is a new technique for the automatic
creation of autonomous robots. Inspired by the Darwinian principle
of selective reproduction of the fittest, it views robots
as autonomous artificial organisms that develop their own
skills in close interaction with the environment and without
human intervention. Drawing heavily on biology and ethology,
it uses the tools of neural networks, genetic algorithms,
dynamic systems and biomorphic engineering. The resulting
robots share with simple biological systems the characteristics
of robustness, simplicity, small size, flexibility and modularity.
In evolutionary robotics, an initial population of artificial
chromosomes, each encoding the control system of a robot,
is randomly created and put into the environment. Each robot
is then free to act (move, look around, manipulate) according
to its genetically specified controller while its performance
on various tasks is automatically evaluated. The fittest robots
then "reproduce" by swapping parts of their genetic
material with small random mutations. The process is repeated
until the "birth" of a robot that satisfies the
performance criteria. This book describes the basic concepts
and methodologies of evolutionary robotics and the results
achieved so far. An important feature is the clear presentation
of a set of empirical experiments of increasing complexity.
Software with a graphic interface, freely available on a Web
page, will allow the reader to replicate and vary (in simulation
and on real robots) most of the experiments. |
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An
Introduction to Genetic Algorithms
Melanie Mitchell
Synopsis
Genetic algorithms have been used in science and engineering
as adaptive algorithms for solving practical problems and
as computational models of natural evolutionary systems.
This introduction describes research in the field and also
enables readers to implement and experiment with genetic
algorithms on their own. The book focuses in depth on a
small set of important topics - particularly in machine
learning, scientific modelling and artificial life - and
reviews a broad span of research, including the work of
Mitchell and her colleagues. The descriptions of applications
and modelling projects stretch beyond the strict boundaries
of computer science to include dynamic systems theory, game
theory, molecular biology, ecology, evolutionary biology
and population genetics.
Great
introduction for the uninitiated!, 13 August, 1998
Reviewer: Michael Yee (myee@peace.gordonc.edu) from Wenham,
MA
This book is ideal for someone totally new to the field
of GAs. Mitchell begins with the fundamental concepts of
the simple GA and proceeds to survey a wide variety of applications.
I especially enjoyed the coverage of topics related to machine
intelligence, which are sometimes left out in books that
focus solely on optimization. The book contains enough information
for someone with programming experience to code their own
GA (including suggested computer exercises), although no
source code is presented. However, the background gained
from reading Mitchell's book will enable an easier read
of more technical books (which may include source code implementations).
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Adaptation
in Natural and Artificial Systems
John H. Holland
Synopsis
Genetic algorithms are playing an increasingly important
role in studies of complex adaptive systems, ranging from
adaptive agents in economic theory to the use of machine
learning techniques in the design of complex devices such
as aircraft turbines and integrated circuits. "Adaptations
in Natural and Artificial Systems" is the book that
initiated this field of study, presenting the theoretical
foundations and exploring applications. In its most familiar
form, adaptation is a biological process, whereby organisms
evolve by rearranging genetic material to survive in environments
confronting them. Holland presents a mathematical model
that allows for the nonlinearity of such complex interactions.
He demonstrates the model's universality by applying it
to economics, physiological psychology, game theory, and
artificial intelligence and then outlines the way in which
this approach modifies the traditional views of mathematical
genetics. Initially applying his concepts to simply defined
artificial systems with limited numbers of parameters, Holland
goes on to explore their use in the study of a wide range
of complex, naturally occuring processes, concentrating
on systems having multiple factors that interact in nonlinear
ways. Along the way he accounts for major effects of coadaptation
and coevolution: the emergence of building blocks, or
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Robot
Evolution: The Development of Anthrobotics
Rosheim, Mark E.
Providing
a comprehensive pictorial history and guide to robotic mechanical
systems, this study traces robot models from the earliest
prototypes to contemporary experimental anthrobots. State-of-the-art
developments, including walking machines of various types,
are covered.
Description
Providing a comprehensive pictorial history and guide to
robotic mechanical systems, this book reviews and describes
the earliest "robotic" devices up to and including
today's experimental anthrobots.
Using a direct comparison between human and robotic components,
the book provides a frame of reference for robot design
by way of human anatomy. Robot arm morphologies, followed
by wrists and hands, are discussed, and state-of-the-art
developments including walking machines of various types
are covered.
Table of Contents
Robots Past
Robot Arms
Wrists
Hands
Legs
Anthrobots.
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Artificial
Intelligence : Robotics and Machine Evolution (Megatech)
David Jefferis
This
is a children's book
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