Towards Self-Adaptation of Robot Organisms with a High Developmental Plasticity

Abstract

In this work we explore several adaptation processes in systems with a high degree of developmental plasticity.It is indicated that such systems are driven by two different forces: adaptation fitness and design goals. The goals, formulated in an invariant way to environmental changes, represent an example of a self-concept, used in developmental processes. This paper gives an example of collective locomotion, introduces four different adaptive mechanisms and finally discuss the self-development of such systems.