Darwin's Devices What Evolving Robots Can Teach Us About the History of Life and the Future of Technology

Biologists are pioneering a new way to study evolution. By building autonomous mobile robots that simulate animal behavior and subjecting them to selective pressures, they are now able to observe the heretofore glacial process of evolutionary adaptation. In turn, these mechanisms are revolutionizing ideas about engineering and design. In Darwin's Devices, biorobotics expert John Long examines this powerful approach to improving our understanding of biology and the machines we rely on daily. Darwin's Devicesis a trip through the laboratory of a fertile mind and the herald of a new era in experimental science. But more than that, it is proof that both science and engineering can benefit when we simply sit back and let natural processes take control.

John Long is a Professor at Vassar College, with joint appointments in Cognitive Science and Biology. He serves as Director of Vassar's Interdisciplinary Robotics Research Laboratory, which he co-founded. Long and his robots, Madeleine and the Tadros, have garnered widespread press coverage in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, and more. He lives in Poughkeepsie, New York.