Sponsor: NSF Science and Technology Center – BEACON
Collaborators: Prof. Philip McKinley (Computer Science and Engineering), Prof. Jenny Boughman (Zoology)
Established in 2010, BEACON is an NSF Science and Technology Center focused on the study of Evolution in Action. A consortium of MSU, North Carolina A&T State University, University of Idaho, University of Texas at Austin, and University of Washington, BEACON conducts research on fundamental evolutionary dynamics in both natural and artificial systems.
With a seeding grant from BEACON, we are exploring evolution in action in robotic systems, with a specific goal of enabling autonomous robotic fish schools by exploiting advances in biological and computational evolution. The question is: what can the studies of robotic fish and biological fish inform each other?
Group of robotic fish in SML:
Sticklebacks in Prof. Boughman’s lab:
