Evolutionary swarm robotics : evolving self-organising behaviours in groups of autonomous robots.

Summary: In this book the use of ER techniques for the design of self-organising group behaviours, for both simulated and real robots is introduced. This research has a twofold value. From an engineering perspective, an automatic methodology for synthesising complex behaviours in a robotic system is described. ER techniques should be used in order to obtain robust and efficient group behaviours based on self-organisation. From a more theoretical point of view, the second important contribution brought forth by the author's experiments concerns the understanding of the basic principles underlying self-organising behaviours and collective intelligence. In this experimental work, the evolved behaviours are analysed in order to uncover the mechanisms that have led to a certain organisation. In summary, this book tries to mediate between two apparently opposed perspectives: engineering and cognitive science. The experiments presented and the results obtained contribute to the assessment of ER not only as a design tool, but also as a methodology for modelling and understanding intelligent adaptive behaviours.