The Impact of Environmental Structure on the Evolutionary Trajectories of a Foraging Agent

  • Authors:
  • Ian R. Edmonds

  • Affiliations:
  • -

  • Venue:
  • Selected Papers from the 5th European Conference on Artificial Evolution
  • Year:
  • 2001

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Abstract

A foraging agent using a sensorimotor controller is simulated in environments with varying ecological structure. The controller is evolved in the different environments to produce a range of emergent behaviours, which are analysed and compared using data reduction techniques: the behaviours are compared between environments and in their evolutionary trajectories. The relationship between the evolutionary trajectories, the affordances in the different environments, and the performance and onward evolution of controllers in their non-native environments is explored. The different environments have lead to agents following different evolutionary trajectories and arriving at similar but slightly different behaviours. These evolved controllers then evolve differvently when challenged with a new environment.