IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation,
Vol. 14, No. 2, April 2010, pages 301-325.
Abstract
Evolutionary and developmental processes are used
to evolve the configurations of 3-D structures in silico to achieve
desired performances. Natural systems utilize the combination of
both evolution and development processes to produce remarkable
performance and diversity. However, this approach has not yet
been applied extensively to the design of continuous 3-D load-supporting
structures. Beginning with a single artificial cell
containing information analogous to a DNA sequence, a structure
is grown according to the rules encoded in the sequence. Each
artificial cell in the structure contains the same sequence of
growth and development rules, and each artificial cell is an
element in a finite element mesh representing the structure of
the mature individual. Rule sequences are evolved over many
generations through selection and survival of individuals in a
population. Modularity and symmetry are visible in nearly
every natural and engineered structure. An understanding of
the evolution and expression of symmetry and modularity is
emerging from recent biological research. Initial evidence of
these attributes is present in the phenotypes that are developed
from the artificial evolution, although neither characteristic is
imposed nor selected-for directly. The computational evolutionary
development approach presented here shows promise for synthesizing
novel configurations of high-performance systems. The
approach may advance the system design to a new paradigm,
where current design strategies have difficulty producing useful
solutions.