Advanced Knowledge Application in Practice

The integration and interdependency of the world economy leads towards the creation of a global market that offers more opportunities, but is also more complex and competitive than ever before. Therefore widespread research activity is necessary if one is to remain successful on the market. This book is the result of research and development activities from a number of researchers worldwide, covering concrete fields of research

Task Allocation in Foraging Robot Swarms:The Role of Information Sharing

Autonomous task allocation is a desirable feature of robot swarms that collect and deliver items in scenarios where congestion, caused by accumulated items or robots, can temporarily interfere with swarm behaviour. In such settings, self-regulation of workforce can prevent unnecessary energy consumption. We explore two types of self-regulation: non-social, where robots become idle upon experiencing congestion, and social, where robots broadcast information about congestion to their team mates in order to socially inhibit foraging. We show that while both types of self-regulation can lead to improved energy efficiency and increase the amount of resource collected, the speed with which information about congestion flows through a swarm affects the scalability of these algorithms

Proceedings of the 2021 DigitalFUTURES

This open access book is a compilation of selected papers from 2021 DigitalFUTURES—The 3rd International Conference on Computational Design and Robotic Fabrication (CDRF 2021). The work focuses on novel techniques for computational design and robotic fabrication. The contents make valuable contributions to academic researchers, designers, and engineers in the industry. As well, readers encounter new ideas about understanding material intelligence in architecture

Adaptive behaviour through morphological plasticity in natural and artificial systems.

Our concept of intelligence is changing. Embodiment has led to the rise of morphologies in Artificial Intelligence (AI) research. This thesis focuses on two research questions: 1) How can system morphologies, well-adapted to changing environments, be designed? 2) How can adaptive behaviour be generated through morphology? It is the fundamental argument of this thesis that morphological plasticity (MP), the environmentally induced variation in growth or development, can provide a solution to both questions. Specifically, this thesis is based around a detailed study of diatom valve morphogenesis. Diatoms, a unicellular organism, construct intricate siliceous structures (valves) around themselves which exhibit high plasticity to the environment. Diatom valve morphogenesis is a good example of how morphologies can be well-adapted to changing environments, an open problem in AI, and how adaptive behaviour can be generated through morphological processes alone. Through a constructivist approach this thesis contributes to both understanding of MP in natural systems and the design of MP algorithms for artificial adaptive systems. Several original models and frameworks are defined within this thesis: the Nature's Batik Model of basic diatom valve morphogenesis the Cellanimat, a 'Dynamic Morphology' based on the unicell, capable of MP driven adaptive behaviour through its unique 'Artificial Cytoskeleton' model of cytoskeletal dynamics the Environment-Phenotype Map framework and the Cellanimat Colony Model, which combines all previous models for the investigation of MP mechanisms during diatom colony formation. Cellanimat dynamics and optimization are thoroughly investigated and the model is shown to be multi functional, evolvable, scalable and reasonably robust

Engineering derivatives from biological systems for advanced aerospace applications

The present study consisted of a literature survey, a survey of researchers, and a workshop on bionics. These tasks produced an extensive annotated bibliography of bionics research (282 citations), a directory of bionics researchers, and a workshop report on specific bionics research topics applicable to space technology. These deliverables are included as Appendix A, Appendix B, and Section 5.0, respectively. To provide organization to this highly interdisciplinary field and to serve as a guide for interested researchers, we have also prepared a taxonomy or classification of the various subelements of natural engineering systems. Finally, we have synthesized the results of the various components of this study into a discussion of the most promising opportunities for accelerated research, seeking solutions which apply engineering principles from natural systems to advanced aerospace problems. A discussion of opportunities within the areas of materials, structures, sensors, information processing, robotics, autonomous systems, life support systems, and aeronautics is given. Following the conclusions are six discipline summaries that highlight the potential benefits of research in these areas for NASA's space technology programs