Davide Boggio – Liceo Scientifico “G.Ferrari”, Borgosesia, Italy

Charles Darwin: from evolutionism to robotics

 “Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science” Charles Darwin

This is one of the many quotations from the most famous naturalist who was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. UK, two hundred years ago.

At first Darwin studied medicine, but natural science was his passion and he graduated in this subject in 1831.

Before long he got the chance to take part in the second survey expedition of the ship HMS Beagle, which set sail from Plymouth Sound on 27 December 1831 under the command of captain Robert FitzRoy, who wanted a naturalist to be his companion while the ship was at sea.

The Beagle sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, carried out detailed hydrographic surveys around the southern coasts of South America, and returned to England via Tahiti and Australia after having circumnavigated the Earth.

On the voyage Darwin made a major find of gigantic fossils of extinct mammals, then known from only very few specimens. He collected and made detailed observations of plants and animals, with results that provided the basis for ideas which led to his theory of evolution by natural selection.

Especially after studying wildlife in the Galapagos Islands and old fossils in the pampas Darwin began to have doubts about species being immutable and became firmly convinced of the transmutation of species and hence evolution. All his findings and remarks were later published in his most famous book entitled On the Origin of Species published in 1859. It is a seminal work in scientific literature and a landmark work in evolutionary biology.[1] The book's full title is On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life., but in the 6th edition of 1872 the title was changed to The Origin of Species.

According to Darwin, every species is so fertile that in case all offspring survived to reproduce themselves, population growth would result. As resources such as food are limited and are relatively stable over time, a struggle for survival ensues. In sexually reproducing species, generally no two individuals are identical and some of these variations, which are inheritable, directly affect the ability of an individual to survive in a given environment. Individuals less suited to the environment are less likely to survive and less likely to reproduce, while individuals more suited to the environment are more likely to survive and more likely to reproduce. The individuals that survive are most likely to leave their inheritable traits to future generations. This slowly effected process results in populations that adapt to the environment over time, and ultimately, after interminable generations, these variations accumulate to form new varieties, and ultimately, new species.

Individuals go on a natural selection, which  determines the survival of the fittest, and the ones who best adapt have greater changes to survive,  reproduce and improve future generations.

During the first part of the 20th century the incorporation of genetics and population biology into studies of evolution led to a Neo-Darwinian theory of evolution that recognized the importance of mutation and variation within a population. Natural selection then became a process that altered the frequency of genes in a population and this defined evolution. This point of view held sway for many decades but more recently the classic Neo-Darwinian view has been replaced by a new concept which includes several other mechanisms in addition to natural selection. Current ideas on evolution are usually referred to as the Modern Synthesis.

Of course, much has been written about Darwin’s profound impact on biology, but less known is his impact on the world of digital technology, particularly computing and robotics. Rome-based CNR, Science and Technology Institute, has done research on the ways Darwin's influence extends into tech:

Genetic algorithms

A genetic algorithm works in a way analogous to natural selection. The short version: a bunch of possible solutions to a problem is randomly generated. Successful (fit) solutions are chosen and allowed to reproduce, while the unsuccessful are discarded.This has turned out to be a great way of solving difficult problems or creating entirely original designs, across a huge number of applications, from stocks and shares to videogames.

Robotics

Programming robots to perform useful tasks can often be a slow, error-prone process – even more so should the robot be physically modified or upgraded, requiring reprogramming.

This approach enables robots to adapt to upgrades by evolving new control systems on the fly. In this example, a robot previously equipped with peg legs learned how to use its new jointed limbs without being taught.

Experts of evolution robotics use Darwin’s theory and robots are only programmed to change their program and software. Their program changes are like genetics mutations. The natural seletion chooses the best mutation, which will help owners (robots, too) in their life. There is a popolation of these robots, which work together and go on according to natural seletion.

Each new application is a further crushing of the idea that evolution is unproven or can't be tested – unequivocal proof of evolution in action and the continuing power of Darwin's ideas.