Towards a Unified Framework for Software-Hardware Integration in Evolutionary Robotics

TY - JOUR

T1 - Towards a Unified Framework for Software-Hardware Integration in Evolutionary Robotics

AU - Buchanan Berumen, Edgar

AU - Le Goff, Léni

AU - Hart, Emma

AU - Hale, Matthew

AU - Eiben, A. E.

AU - De Carlo, Matteo

AU - Angus, Mike

AU - Woolley, Robert

AU - Timmis, Jon

AU - Winfield, Alan

AU - Tyrrell, Andy

N1 - This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the University’s Research Publications and Open Access policy.

PY - 2024/10/22

Y1 - 2024/10/22

N2 - The discrepancy between simulated and hardware experiments, the reality gap, is a challenge in evolutionary robotics. While strategies have been proposed to address this gap in fixed-body robots, they are not viable when dealing with populations and generations where the body is in constant change. The continual evolution of body designs necessitates the manufacturing of new robotic structures, a process that can be time-consuming if carried out manually. Moreover, the increased manufacturing time not only prolongs hardware experimental durations but also disrupts the synergy between hardware and simulated experiments. Failure to effectively manage these challenges could impede the implementation of evolutionary robotics in real-life environments. The Autonomous Robot Evolution project presents a framework to tackle these challenges through a case study. This paper describes the main three contributions of this work: Firstly, it analyses the different reality gap experienced by each different robot or the heterogenous reality gap. Secondly, it emphasizes the importance of automation in robot manufacturing. And thirdly, it highlights the necessity of a framework to orchestrate the synergy between simulated and hardware experiments. In the long term, integrating these contributions into evolutionary robotics is envisioned to enable the continuous production of robots in real-world environments.

AB - The discrepancy between simulated and hardware experiments, the reality gap, is a challenge in evolutionary robotics. While strategies have been proposed to address this gap in fixed-body robots, they are not viable when dealing with populations and generations where the body is in constant change. The continual evolution of body designs necessitates the manufacturing of new robotic structures, a process that can be time-consuming if carried out manually. Moreover, the increased manufacturing time not only prolongs hardware experimental durations but also disrupts the synergy between hardware and simulated experiments. Failure to effectively manage these challenges could impede the implementation of evolutionary robotics in real-life environments. The Autonomous Robot Evolution project presents a framework to tackle these challenges through a case study. This paper describes the main three contributions of this work: Firstly, it analyses the different reality gap experienced by each different robot or the heterogenous reality gap. Secondly, it emphasizes the importance of automation in robot manufacturing. And thirdly, it highlights the necessity of a framework to orchestrate the synergy between simulated and hardware experiments. In the long term, integrating these contributions into evolutionary robotics is envisioned to enable the continuous production of robots in real-world environments.

KW - evolutionary robotics

KW - evolution of things

KW - automation

KW - software-hardware synergy

KW - reality gap

M3 - Special issue

SN - 2218-6581

JO - MDPI Robotics

JF - MDPI Robotics

ER -