The Cyber Rodent Project: Exploration of Adaptive Mechanisms for Self-Preservation and Self-Reproduction
- 1 June 2005
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Adaptive Behavior
- Vol. 13 (2) , 149-160
Abstract
The aim of the Cyber Rodent project is to understand the origins of our reward and affective systems by building artificial agents that share the same intrinsic constraints as natural agents: Self-preserva tion and self-reproduction. A Cyber Rodent is a robot that can search for and recharge from battery packs on the floor and copy its programs to a nearby agent through its infrared communication port. This article reviews our research topics so far, including (1) evolution of neural controllers, (2) learning of foraging and mating behaviors, (3) evolution of learning architectures and meta-parameters, (4) simultaneous learning of multiple agents in a body, and (5) learning and evolution in a self-sustained colony. We discuss our future directions and expected contributions.Keywords
This publication has 17 references indexed in Scilit:
- Evolution of Neural Architecture Fitting Environmental DynamicsAdaptive Behavior, 2005
- Different representation of forthcoming reward in nucleus accumbens and medial prefrontal cortexNeuroReport, 2004
- Evolving recurrent neural controllers for sequential tasks: a parallel implementation2003
- Metalearning and neuromodulationNeural Networks, 2002
- Evolution of Reinforcement Learning in Uncertain Environments: A Simple Explanation for Complex Foraging BehaviorsAdaptive Behavior, 2002
- Complementary roles of basal ganglia and cerebellum in learning and motor controlCurrent Opinion in Neurobiology, 2000
- Hierarchical Reinforcement Learning with the MAXQ Value Function DecompositionJournal of Artificial Intelligence Research, 2000
- Robot Learning and Self-Sufficiency: What the energy-level can tell us about a robot’s performance1998
- Basic cycles, utility and opportunism in self-sufficient robotsRobotics and Autonomous Systems, 1997
- Challenges in evolving controllers for physical robotsRobotics and Autonomous Systems, 1996