Name of Paper

SlugBot: A Robotic Predator in the Natural World.


Authors

Ian Kelly, Owen Holland and Chris Melhuish.


Published

The 5th International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics (AROB 5th '00) for Human Welfare and Artificial Liferobotics, Compal Hall, Oita, Japan, 26-28 January 2000. pp 470-475.


Abstract

A key aspect of the autonomy of living things is their ability to find and use sources of energy in the natural environment. Clearly, any comprehensive attempt at producing artificial life should demonstrate an equivalent capability; equally clearly, so should any truly autonomous robot. To date, both Alife agent simulations and robotic implementations have used environments and energy sources much too simple or structured to allow such equivalence to be claimed. This paper describes recent progress on an attempt to break free of these limitations by developing the world's first artificial predator - a robot which lives free on agricultural land, hunting and catching slugs, and fermenting the corpses to produce the biogas which is its sole source of energy.


Electronic copy

arob00.ps.Z (626K)