Evolving Lawnmower Behaviour

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Can collective human interaction allow a public robot to grow into the space it operates in? Becoming not only competent at its task, but an active participant in the cultural evolution of its environment?

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I worked with Eric Borg and Hannah Khuen to supervise Tobias Carlsson as he undertook his masters thesis with Husqvarna Robotics. Continuing the research direction I proposed in my PhD thesis. We explored the intersection of co-design, genetic algorithms and industrial robot lawnmowers.

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Tobias built a simulation environment where you can interact with, select and evolve robotic lawnmowers. His user study revealed that guiding the evolution of robot behaviour is engaging, reflective and can produce surprising design outcomes.

 

Publications:

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• It Takes a Village to Raise a Robot: Evolving Autonomous Lawnmower Behaviors through Human Selection. [download pdf]