II-EN: Evolution Park - An Evolutionary Robotics Habitat for the Study of Crawling, Swimming and Flying Creatures

Michigan State University, East Lansing MI

Investigators

Abstract

The Evolution Park provides a testbed for applying evolutionary computation to the development and control of autonomous robotic systems. Mixed populations are created, including some robots and some natural systems to facilitate a form of biomutualism where biology, engineering and computer science inform one another in synergistic and mutually beneficial ways. The 3D printer enables the realization of physical bodies (morphologies) that evolve concurrently with their control systems. The fabricated bodies are coupled with electroactive polymer materials to produce artificial organisms capable of locomotion without motors. Specially instrumented aquatic environments allow robotic fish to be used as stimuli to elicit behavioral responses in living fish under conditions manipulated by the experimenter. A collection of high-performance graphics workstations with large monitors facilitate fine-grained, interactive analysis of evolved behaviors in simulated robots, as well as analysis of video data captured by underwater cameras. This infrastructure enables compelling new research directions in evolutionary robotics and squarely builds on previous work by the PIs on group communication and cooperative behavior, parallel processing, wireless networking, autonomic computing, distributed algorithms, high-assurance software, complex behavior in natural organisms, sensors and actuators, robotic fish, bio-inspired robots and swarms, as well as speciation and the evolution of communication. These advances benefit many applications in science and engineering, public safety, and national defense. The Evolution Park supports several innovative educational and outreach activities. Such endeavors provide a framework for hands-on experiments that are integrated into university courses, teacher training workshops, summer camps and after-school programs for K-12 students.