RENT TEXTBOOKS

Darwin's Devices: What Evoloving Robots Can Teach Us About the History of Life and the Future o...

ISBN: 9780465021413 | 0465021417

Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Perseus Books Group
Pub. Date: 4/3/2012

Why Rent from Knetbooks?

Because Knetbooks knows college students. Our rental program is designed to save you time and money. Whether you need a textbook for a semester, quarter or even a summer session, we have an option for you. Simply select a rental period, enter your information and your book will be on its way!

Top 5 reasons to order all your textbooks from Knetbooks:

We have the lowest prices on thousands of popular textbooks
Free shipping both ways on ALL orders
Most orders ship within 48 hours
Need your book longer than expected? Extending your rental is simple
Our customer support team is always here to help

Summary Table of Contents

Why using natural selection to design robots is revolutionizing our understanding of life.

Biologists are pioneering a new way to study evolution. By building autonomous mobile robots that simulate animal behavior and subjecting them to selective pressures, they are now able to observe the heretofore glacial process of evolutionary adaptation. In turn, these mechanisms are revolutionizing ideas about engineering and design. In Darwin's Devices, biorobotics expert John Long examines this powerful approach to improvi... MOREng our understanding of biology and the machines we rely on daily. Darwin's Devicesis a trip through the laboratory of a fertile mind and the herald of a new era in experimental science. But more than that, it is proof that both science and engineering can benefit when we simply sit back and let natural processes take control.

"What happens when we let robots play the game of life? The challenge of studying evolution is that the history of life is buried in the past--we can't witness the dramatic events that shaped the adaptations we see today. But biorobotics expert John Long has found an ingenious way to overcome this problem: he creates robots that look and behave like extinct animals, subjects them to evolutionary pressures, lets them compete for mates and resources, and mutates their 'genes'. In short, he lets robots play the game of life. In Darwin's Devices, Long tells the story of these evolving biorobots--how they came to be, and what they can teach us about the biology of living and extinct species. Evolving biorobots can replicate creatures that disappeared from the Earth long ago, showing us in real time what happens in the face of unexpected environmental challenges. Biomechanically correct models of backbones functioning as part of an autonomous robot, for example, can help us understand why the first vertebrates evolved them. But the most impressive feature of these robots, as Long shows, is their ability to illustrate the power of evolution to solve difficult technological challenges autonomously--without human input regarding what a workable solution might be. Even a simple robot can create complex behavior, often learning or evolving greater intelligence than humans could possibly program. This remarkable idea could forever alter the face of engineering, design, and even warfare. An amazing tour through the workings of a fertile mind, Darwin's Devices will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about evolution, robot intelligence, and life itself"--

... MORE

Why Robots?	p. 1
The Game of Life	p. 23
Engineering Evolvabots	p. 43
Tadros Play the Game of Life	p. 69
The Life of the Embodied Mind	p. 95
Predator, Prey, and Vertebrae	p. 131
Evolutionary Trekkers	p. 167
So Long, and Thanks for All the Robotic Fish	p. 205
Acknowledgments	p. 235
Notes	p. 239
Index	p. 261
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Please wait while this item is added to your cart...