As described on BBC Radio 4‘s normal staid and highbrow Today program as the spectacle of “living robots sucking each other’s brains”, the Magna centre in South Yorkshire is staging an experiment in emergent, evolutionary behaviour in a simple robot ‘ecosystem’.
“The autonomous robots at CRUM (Creative Robotics Unit at Magna) have been designed live together in their own environment and operate without human intervention. The robot colony is divided into two distinct species: Predator & Prey.
To maintain their energy levels ie to stay alive – the Prey ‘graze’ under brilliant white light trees which they must first seek out using their solar sensors. Their batteries charge by positioning their solar panels in exactly the correct place. The Predators, on the other hand, need to hunt down the grazing prey to maintain their energy levels. The Predators have to capture the prey, immobilise them, and then extract their battery power with an energy-sucking fang that is stuck deep into the middle of the Prey.”
The Predators must feed to survive and they are constantly scanning their surroundings for unsuspecting Prey, while the Prey, constantly looking for their next energy boost must dodge the hungry Predators. The two are locked into a perpetual cat-and-mouse game to stay alive.”
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