Evolution of Sidewinding Locomotion of Simulated
Limbless, Weelless Robots
Proceedings of the 9th International Symposium on
Artificial Life and Robotics (AROB-04), 2, page 472--475. (2004)Abstract
Inspired by the efficient method of locomotion of the
rattlesnake Crotalus cerastes, the objective of this
work is automatic design through genetic programming,
of the fastest possible (sidewinding) locomotion of
simulated limbless, wheelless artifacts. The realism of
the simulation is ensured by employing the Open
Dynamics Engine (ODE), which facilitates implementation
of all the physical forces, resulting from the
actuators (muscles), frictions, gravity, collisions and
joints constrains. The empirically obtained results
demonstrate that the complex side winding locomotion
emerges from relatively simple motion patterns of
morphological segments (vertebrae). The robustness of
automatically evolved locomotion is verified by (i)
minimal performance degradation when partial damage to
the artifact is inflicted and (ii) the ability to
tackle obstacles. Contributing to the better
understanding of side-winding locomotion, this work
could be considered as a step towards building real
limbless, wheelless robots, which feature unique
engineering characteristics and are able to perform
robustly in difficult environments.