EvolvedTArobots-plusSupp.pdf (1.52 MB)
Evolved transistor array robot controllers
Version 2 2023-06-07, 08:44
Version 1 2023-06-07, 06:51
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-07, 08:44 authored by Michael Garvie, Ittai Flascher, Andy PhilippidesAndy Philippides, Adrian Thompson, Phil HusbandsPhil HusbandsFor the first time a field programmable transistor array (FPTA) was used to evolve robot control circuits directly in analog hardware. Controllers were successfully incrementally evolved for a physical robot engaged in a series of visually guided behaviours, including finding a target in a complex environment where the goal was hidden from most locations. Circuits for recognising spoken commands were also evolved and these were used in conjunction with the controllers to enable voice control of the robot, triggering behavioural switching. Poor quality visual sensors were deliberately used to test the ability of evolved analog circuits to deal with noisy uncertain data in realtime. Visual features were coevolved with the controllers to automatically achieve dimensionality reduction and feature extraction and selection in an integrated way. An efficient new method was developed for simulating the robot in its visual environment. This allowed controllers to be evaluated in a simulation connected to the FPTA. The controllers then transferred seamlessly to the real world. The circuit replication issue was also addressed in experiments where circuits were evolved to be able to function correctly in multiple areas of the FPTA. A methodology was developed to analyse the evolved circuits which provided insights into their operation. Comparative experiments demonstrated the superior evolvability of the transistor array medium.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Journal
Evolutionary ComputationISSN
1063-6560Publisher
MIT PressExternal DOI
Issue
4Volume
28Page range
677-708Department affiliated with
- Informatics Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2020-04-24First Open Access (FOA) Date
2020-05-04First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2020-04-23Usage metrics
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