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Evolving Neural Networks for Robotic Arm Control

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Applications of Evolutionary Computation (EvoApplications 2023)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 13989))

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Abstract

Developing effective and adaptive robotic arm controllers is crucial for many industries, e.g. manufacturing. Traditional pre-programmed controllers cannot adapt to changing environments. This study investigates how neuroevolution can be used to develop robotic arm controllers and addresses key gaps in the existing literature, such as incorporating expert demonstrations and analyzing the robustness of evolved controllers. In addition to addressing these questions, this work compares different controller architectures and training algorithms. The proposed evolutionary neural network motion controller can accurately complete the random target reaching task, moving to within 1.7 cm from the target on average. An evolutionary supervisor neural network approach is also proposed to solve the pick-and-place task. The proposed method achieves a high successful completion rate, 927 out of 1000 trials.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Computer Science, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland

    Anthony Horgan & Karl Mason

Authors
  1. Anthony Horgan
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  2. Karl Mason
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Karl Mason .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    João Correia

  2. University of York, York, UK

    Stephen Smith

  3. Al Hussein Technical University, Amman, Jordan

    Raneem Qaddoura

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Horgan, A., Mason, K. (2023). Evolving Neural Networks for Robotic Arm Control. In: Correia, J., Smith, S., Qaddoura, R. (eds) Applications of Evolutionary Computation. EvoApplications 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 13989. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-30229-9_38

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-30229-9_38

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-30228-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-30229-9

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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