Coevolution of active vision and feature selection

Abstract.: We show that complex visual tasks, such as position- and size-invariant shape recognition and navigation in the environment, can be tackled with simple architectures generated by a coevolutionary process of active vision and feature selection. Behavioral machines equipped with primitive vision systems and direct pathways between visual and motor neurons are evolved while they freely interact with their environments. We describe the application of this methodology in three sets of experiments, namely, shape discrimination, car driving, and robot navigation. We show that these systems develop sensitivity to a number of oriented, retinotopic, visual-feature-oriented edges, corners, height, and a behavioral repertoire to locate, bring, and keep these features in sensitive regions of the vision system, resembling strategies observed in simple insect

Coevolution of active vision and feature selection

We show that complex visual tasks, such as position- and size-invariant shape recognition and navigation in the environment, can be tackled with simple architectures generated by a coevolutionary process of active vision and feature selection. Behavioral machines equipped with primitive vision systems and direct pathways between visual and motor neurons are evolved while they freely interact with their environments. We describe the application of this methodology in three sets of experiments, namely, shape discrimination, car driving, and robot navigation. We show that these systems develop sensitivity to a number of oriented, retinotopic, visual-feature-oriented edges, corners, height, and a behavioral repertoire to locate, bring, and keep these features in sensitive regions of the vision system, resembling strategies observed in simple insects

Evolution of swarming behavior is shaped by how predators attack

Animal grouping behaviors have been widely studied due to their implications for understanding social intelligence, collective cognition, and potential applications in engineering, artificial intelligence, and robotics. An important biological aspect of these studies is discerning which selection pressures favor the evolution of grouping behavior. In the past decade, researchers have begun using evolutionary computation to study the evolutionary effects of these selection pressures in predator-prey models. The selfish herd hypothesis states that concentrated groups arise because prey selfishly attempt to place their conspecifics between themselves and the predator, thus causing an endless cycle of movement toward the center of the group. Using an evolutionary model of a predator-prey system, we show that how predators attack is critical to the evolution of the selfish herd. Following this discovery, we show that density-dependent predation provides an abstraction of Hamilton's original formulation of ``domains of danger.'' Finally, we verify that density-dependent predation provides a sufficient selective advantage for prey to evolve the selfish herd in response to predation by coevolving predators. Thus, our work corroborates Hamilton's selfish herd hypothesis in a digital evolutionary model, refines the assumptions of the selfish herd hypothesis, and generalizes the domain of danger concept to density-dependent predation.Comment: 25 pages, 11 figures, 5 tables, including 2 Supplementary Figures. Version to appear in "Artificial Life

Arms races and car races

Evolutionary car racing (ECR) is extended to the case of two cars racing on the same track. A sensor representation is devised, and various methods of evolving car controllers for competitive racing are explored. ECR can be combined with co-evolution in a wide variety of ways, and one aspect which is explored here is the relative-absolute fitness continuum. Systematical behavioural differences are found along this continuum; further, a tendency to specialization and the reactive nature of the controller architecture are found to limit evolutionary progress

Coevolutionary Competence in the Realm of Corporate Longevity: How Long-lived Firms Strategically Renew Themselves

Understanding the phenomena of corporate longevity and self-renewing organizations has become an important topic in recent management literature. However, the majority of the research contributions focus on internal determinants of longevity and self-renewal. Using a co-evolutionary framework, the purpose of this paper is to address the dynamic interaction between organizations and environments in the realm of sustained strategic renewal, i.e. corporate longevity. To this end, we will focus on the competence of long-lived firms to coevolve due to the joint effect of managerial intentionality and environmental selection pressures. Building on coevolutionary framework, we develop a conceptual framework that highlights an organization’s coevolutionary competence. Two longitudinal case studies are presented illustrating the arguments.strategic renewal;corporate longevity;competence-based management;adaptive open systems;coevolutionary competence

Active Galactic Nuclei with Candidate Intermediate-Mass Black Holes

We present an initial sample of 19 intermediate-mass black hole candidates in active galactic nuclei culled from the First Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Using the linewidth-luminosity-mass scaling relation established for broad-line active nuclei, we estimate black hole masses in the range of 8 x 10^4 - 10^6 solar masses, a regime in which only two objects are currently known. The absolute magnitudes are faint for active galactic nuclei, ranging from M_g of -15 to -18 mag, while the bolometric luminosities are all close to the Eddington limit. The entire sample formally satisfies the linewidth criterion for so-called narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies; however, they display a wider range of FeII and [OIII] (5007) line strengths than is typically observed in this class of objects. Although the available imaging data are of insufficient quality to ascertain the detailed morphologies of the host galaxies, it is likely that the majority of the hosts are relatively late-type systems. The host galaxies have estimated g-band luminosities ~ 1 mag fainter than M* for the general galaxy population at z of 0.1. Beyond simply extending the known mass range of central black holes in galactic nuclei, these objects provide unique observational constraints on the progenitors of supermassive black holes. They are also expected to contribute significantly to the integrated signal for future gravitational wave experiments.Comment: ApJ Accepted, 13 pages, 9 figures, uses emulateapj.cl

Rethinking the Dutch Innovation Agenda: Management and Organization Matter Most

In this essay, we challenge the present dominant emphasis in the Dutch Innovation Debate on the creation of technological innovations, the focus on a few core technologies, and the allocation of more financial resources. We argue that managerial capabilities and organizing principles for innovation should have a higher priority on the Dutch Innovation Agenda. Managerial capabilities for innovation deal with cognitive elements such as the capacity to absorb knowledge, create entrepreneurial mindsets, and facilitate managerial experimentation and higher-order learning abilities. These capacities can only be developed by distinctive managerial roles that enhance hierarchy, teaming and shared norms. Utilizing these unique managerial capabilities requires novel organizing principles, such as managing internal rates of change, nurturing self-organization and balancing high levels of exploration and exploitation. These managerial capabilities and organizing principles of innovation create new sources of productivity growth and competitive advantage.The dramatic fall back of the Netherlands in the league of innovative and high productivity countries of the World Economic Forum-Report can be mainly attributed to the present lack in the Netherlands of these key managerial and organizational enablers of innovation and productivity growth. We provide various levers for building unique managerial capabilities and novel organizing principles of innovation. Moreover, we describe the necessary roles that different actors have to play in this innovation arena. In particular, we focus on the often neglected but important role of strategic regulations that speed up innovation and productivity growth. They are the least expensive way to boost innovation in organizations in both the Dutch private and public sector. Finally, we discuss the implications for the Dutch Innovation Agenda. It should start with setting a challenging ambition, namely the return of The Netherlands within the WEF- league of the top-ten most innovative and productive countries of the world. Considering the under-utilization of available knowledge stemming from technological innovations, managerial and organizational determinants of innovation should receive first priority. These determinants have a high strategic relevance and should receive more public recognition. We suggest to organize an annual innovation ranking of the most outstanding Dutch firms, to develop an innovation audit that measures firms’ non-technological innovation capacity, and to create an overall innovation policy for fast diffusion of new managerial capabilities and adequate organizing principles throughout the Dutch private and public sector.In conclusion, we add five new items to the Dutch Innovation Agenda:1. Prioritize administrative innovationsInvestments in management and organization determinants of absorption of knowledge and its successful application (administrative innovation) should have a higher priority than investments in technological innovations.2. Build new managerial capabilities and develop novel organizing principlesFor these administrative innovations to succeed, firms have to build managerial capabilities (broad knowledge-base, absorptive capacity, managerial experimentation, higher-order learning) and various management roles (hierarchy, teaming, shared norms) to increase the assimilation of external knowledge and the utilization for innovation. Moreover, they have to develop novel organizing principles that increase internal rates of change, nurture self-organization and synchronize high levels of exploration and exploitation.3. Set levers of innovation by creating selection environments that favor innovation and by redefining the roles of key actors Management has to create a proper organizational context to foster entrepreneurship and innovation (internal selection environment). Governmental agencies have to focus on innovation and productivity enabling strategic regulations (external selection environment). Moreover, research institutes, business schools, and consulting firms should not only focus on technological knowledge, but also on managerial and organizational knowledge for innovation. In the end, private small and large firms and public institutions have to recognize that they all must contribute to the national goal of increasing innovation and productivity growth.4. Create a new challenging national ambition: return of the Netherlands within the top-10The Netherlands has to return to the top-ten most innovative and productive countries in the world as reflected in international rankings such as the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index.5. Proliferate an awareness and passion for innovation:Create public awareness and recognition of the societal relevance of outstanding managerial capabilities and organizing principles to innovation and productivity growth:o Initiate a Dutch innovation ranking in terms of management and organization;o Develop proper assessment tools for innovations in management and organization;o Enhance reporting on the progress on managerial and organizational innovation as part of modern corporate governance and as part of outstanding annual reports.These issues may contribute to rethinking the fundamental sources of innovation, productivity growth and sustainable competitive advantage of the Dutch economy.dynamic capabilities;knowledge transfer;exploitation;exploration;mANAGEMENT;mindsets;organizing pinciples;srategic rgulation;strategy innovation