The GOLEM project: evolving hardware bodies and brains

The GOLEM project is an attempt to extend evolutionary techniques into the physical world by evolving diverse electro-mechanical machines (robots) that can be fabricated automatically. In this work we go beyond evolution of hardware controllers and demonstrate for the first time a path that allows transfer of virtual diversity of morphology into reality. Our approach is based on the use of only elementary building blocks in both the design and embodiment. We describe a set of preliminary experiments evolving electromechanical systems composed of thermoplastic, linear actuators and neurons for the task of locomotion, first in simulation then in reality. Using 3D solid printing, these creatures then replicate automatically into reality where they faithfully reproduce the performance of their virtual ancestors.