Evolutionary Design, Robustness and Adaptation of
Sidewinding Locomotion of Simulated Libmless Wheelless
Robot
Proceedings of the 2004 IEEE Congress on Evolutionary
Computation, 2, page 2312--2319. Portland, Oregon, IEEE Press, (20-23 June 2004)Abstract
The objective of this work is automatic design through
genetic programming, of the fastest possible locomotion
of simulated snake-like robot (Snakebot). The realism
of simulation is ensured by employing the Open Dynamics
Engine software library. Empirical results demonstrate
the emergence of sidewinding as fastest locomotion
gait. Robustness of the sidewinding is illustrated by
the ease with which Snakebot overcomes various types of
obstacles. The ability of Snakebot to adapt to partial
damage by gradually improving its velocity
characteristics is shown. Discovering compensatory
locomotion traits, Snakebot recovers completely from
single damage and recovers a major extent of its
original velocity when more significant damage is
inflicted.