Bio-Inspired Artificial Intelligence: Theories, Methods, and Technologies (Intelligent Robotics and Autonomous Agents)

A comprehensive introduction to new approaches in artificial intelligence and robotics that are inspired by self-organizing biological processes and structures.

New approaches to artificial intelligence spring from the idea that intelligence emerges as much from cells, bodies, and societies as it does from evolution, development, and learning. Traditionally, artificial intelligence has been concerned with reproducing the abilities of human brains; newer approaches take inspiration from a wider range of biological structures that that are capable of autonomous self-organization. Examples of these new approaches include evolutionary computation and evolutionary electronics, artificial neural networks, immune systems, biorobotics, and swarm intelligence—to mention only a few. This book offers a comprehensive introduction to the emerging field of biologically inspired artificial intelligence that can be used as an upper-level text or as a reference for researchers. Each chapter presents computational approaches inspired by a different biological system; each begins with background information about the biological system and then proceeds to develop computational models that make use of biological concepts. The chapters cover evolutionary computation and electronics; cellular systems; neural systems, including neuromorphic engineering; developmental systems; immune systems; behavioral systems—including several approaches to robotics, including behavior-based, bio-mimetic, epigenetic, and evolutionary robots; and collective systems, including swarm robotics as well as cooperative and competitive co-evolving systems. Chapters end with a concluding overview and suggested reading.

Dario Floreano is Director of the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). He is the coauthor of Evolutionary Robotics: The Biology, Intelligence, and Technology of Self-Organizing Machines (MIT Press, 2000).

Claudio Mattiussi is an independent researcher. His interests include evolutionary computation, evolutionary electronics, artificial immune systems, cellular systems, developmental systems, machine learning, probabilistic and bio-inspired intelligence and engineering, and the consistent numerical formulation of physical field problems