@article {145, title = {A Hormone-Driven Epigenetic Mechanism for Adaptation in Autonomous Robots}, journal = {IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and Developmental Systems}, volume = {10}, year = {2018}, note = {Download (Open Access)}, pages = {445{\textendash}454}, publisher = {IEEE}, abstract = {Different epigenetic mechanisms provide biological organisms with the ability to adjust their physiology and/or morphology and adapt to a wide range of challenges posed by their environments. In particular, one type of epigenetic process, in which hormone concentrations are linked to the regulation of hormone receptors, has been shown to have implications for behavioral development. In this paper, taking inspiration from these biological processes, we investigate whether an epigenetic model based on the concept of hormonal regulation of receptors can provide a similarly robust and general adaptive mechanism for autonomous robots. We have implemented our model using a Koala robot, and tested it in a series of experiments in six different environments with varying challenges to negotiate. Our results, including the emergence of varied behaviors that permit the robot to exploit its current environment, demonstrate the potential of our epigenetic model as a general mechanism for adaptation in autonomous robots.}, issn = {2379-8920}, doi = {10.1109/TCDS.2017.2775620}, url = {https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8115310/}, author = {Lones, John and Lewis, Matthew and Lola Ca{\~n}amero} } @inproceedings {2014, title = {Hormonal Modulation of Development and Behaviour Permits a Robot to Adapt to Novel Interactions}, booktitle = {Proc. 14th Conference on the Synthesis and Simulation of Living Systems (ALIFE 2014)}, year = {2014}, note = {Download}, pages = {184{\textendash}191}, publisher = {MIT Press}, organization = {MIT Press}, address = {New York, NY}, abstract = {Hormones are known to play a critical role in modulating the behaviour and development of organisms when confronted with different environment challenges. In this paper we present a biologically plausible hormonal mechanism that allows an autonomous robot to interact appropriately with novel objects and interactions depending upon both its current internal state and its past experiences. In our experiments, robots that had been exposed to negative experiences during their initial developmental phase displayed withdrawn behaviour and were less likely to explore new objects and environments, or to engage with a human caregiver. In contrast, robots with a positive upbringing showed much greater levels of outgoing behaviour such as exploration and social interaction.}, isbn = {978-0-262-32621-6}, doi = {10.7551/978-0-262-32621-6-ch031}, url = {https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/978-0-262-32621-6-ch031}, author = {Lones, John and Lewis, Matthew and Lola Ca{\~n}amero} } @inproceedings {2014, title = {Hormonal Modulation of Interaction Between Autonomous Agents}, booktitle = {Proc. 4th Joint IEEE International Conference on Development and Learning and on Epigenetic Robotics (ICDL-Epirob 2014)}, year = {2014}, note = {Download}, month = {10/2014}, pages = {402{\textendash}407}, publisher = {IEEE}, organization = {IEEE}, address = {Genoa, Italy}, abstract = {Epigenetic like mechanism potentially have a critical role to play in the long term modulation of behaviour, interaction and adaptation. In this study we implement an model of these mechanism, the upward and downward regulation of hormone receptors located in a simply hormone driven autonomous agent. We frame this study in a multi agent setup using competition as a way to change the dynamics of the environment and the challenges the agents face. We found that this simply epigenetic mechanism has the potential to significantly alter the behaviour of the agents, allowing them to develop not only unique individual behaviour but also group like structures that permit them to better adapt to the different challenges that the environment presents.}, doi = {10.1109/DEVLRN.2014.6983015}, url = {http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6983015/}, author = {Lones, John and Lewis, Matthew and Lola Ca{\~n}amero} }