Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 30, 2025

The Modular Design and Production of an Intelligent Robot Based on a Closed-Loop Control Strategy
Published on: October 14, 2017
Constrained by Design: Influence of Genetic Encodings on Evolved Traits of Robots
1Computer Science Department, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Abstract:
Genetic encodings and their particular properties are known to have a strong influence on the success of evolutionary systems. However, the literature has widely focused on studying the effects that encodings have on performance, i.e., fitness-oriented studies. Notably, this anchoring of the literature to performance is limiting, considering that performance provides bounded information about the behavior of a robot system. In this paper, we investigate how genetic encodings constrain the space of robot phenotypes and robot behavior. In summary, we demonstrate how two generative encodings of different nature lead to very different robots and discuss these differences. Our principal contributions are creating awareness about robot encoding biases, demonstrating how such biases affect evolved morphological, control, and behavioral traits, and finally scrutinizing the trade-offs among different biases.
Related Concept Videos
What is Genetic Engineering?
Behavioral Genetics and Its Designs
The primary methodologies used in behavior genetics include family studies, twin studies, and adoption studies, each providing unique...
Human Genetics
The complex relationship between genetics and psychology is observable through common biological components such...
Stereotype Content Model
Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?
In contrast, regions which code...
Inheritance
Each gene exists in pairs, and the combination of these genes from both parents forms an individual's genotype. This genotype is a blueprint of potential traits. Examples of genotype...

