title: Vector field embryogeny.
abstract: We present a novel approach toward evolving artificial embryogenies, which omits the graph representation of gene regulatory networks and directly shapes the dynamics of a system, i.e., its phase space. We show the feasibility of the approach by evolving cellular differentiation, a basic feature of both biological and artificial development. We demonstrate how a spatial hierarchy formulation can be integrated into the framework and investigate the evolution of a hierarchical system. Finally, we show how the framework allows the investigation of allometry, a biological phenomenon, and its role for evolution. We find that direct evolution of allometric change, i.e., the evolutionary adaptation of the speed of system states on transient trajectories in phase space, is advantageous for a cellular differentiation task.
authors.affiliation: Honda Research Institute Europe GmbH, Offenbach am Main, Germany. till.steiner@honda-ri.de
authors.forename: Till
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Steiner
authors.forename: Yaochu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sendhoff
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000235:genetics; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks / Q000235:genetics; D008954:Models, Biological; D010641:Phenotype