Evolution of Things

TL;DR

This paper introduces Embodied Artificial Evolution (EAE), a new field that aims to physically realize evolutionary processes beyond digital simulations, expanding the scope of evolutionary computing into tangible, real-world applications.

Contribution

It proposes the concept of EAE as an umbrella term, discusses its potential applications, benefits, and the grand challenges for developing this emerging research area.

Findings

EAE could enable physical embodiment of evolutionary processes.

Potential applications include adaptive robotics and self-organizing systems.

Addresses key challenges in transitioning from digital to physical evolution.

Abstract

Evolution is one of the major omnipresent powers in the universe that has been studied for about two centuries. Recent scientific and technical developments make it possible to make the transition from passively understanding to actively mastering evolution. As of today, the only area where human experimenters can design and manipulate evolutionary processes in full is that of Evolutionary Computing, where evolutionary processes are carried out in a digital space, inside computers, in simulation. We argue that in the near future it will be possible to move evolutionary computing outside such imaginary spaces and make it physically embodied. In other words, we envision the "Evolution of Things", rather than just the evolution of code, leading to a new field of Embodied Artificial Evolution (EAE). The main objective of the present paper is to offer an umbrella term and vision in order to aid the development of this high potential research area. To this end, we introduce the notion of EAE, discuss a few examples and applications, and elaborate on the expected benefits as well as the grand challenges this developing field will have to address.