Page 39 - GCN, June/July 2018

When Darwin does robots
Artificial evolution can generate simulated robots that are adapted to their environments, perform simple tasks and quickly adjust to damage during a mission
BY DAVID HOWARD
The uptake of robotics technology is increasing at a startling rate. In the U.S., robot sales are predicted to increase by at least 15 percent per year between 2017 and 2020. Contrasting that to the human race, with an annual population increase of approximately 1.1 percent, has led some to predict that the number of robots in the world will surpass the number of humans within 30 years.
Most of those robots will perform repetitive tasks that require little or no intelligence, but a huge range of useful
jobs need robots that can adapt and learn on their own. That’s why we’re using Darwinian evolution as the basis of our robot design process.
Structured and
unstructured environments Robots are often used in what we might call a “structured” environment, where conditions are predictable and controllable with no hidden surprises.
Think of a robot arm on an assembly line. It can perform a repetitive task —
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