A Modular Framework for the Evolution of Circuits on Configurable Transistor Array Architectures.

This paper gives an overview over the progress that has been made by the Heidelberg FPTA group within the field of analog evolvable hardware. Achievements are the design of a CMOS configurable transistor array (FPTA), the development of evolutionary algorithms (EAs) for analog circuit synthesis and the implementation of a modular framework, which makes it possible to use various substrates and simulation models for evolution experiments. The improvement of the EA is shown by comparing the performance of three implementations in evolving comparators. Additionally, results, obtained from the FPTA for the evolution of oscillators from scratch, are presented as an example for the successful application of the multi-objective Turtle GA. Finally, it is shown that a simplified software model of the Heidelberg FPTA is suitable to assess the real hardware, indicated by the fact that both substrates perform equally well in finding good solutions for comparators. This work aims at creating a customizable, modular framework that facilitates research on the performance and evolvability of possible FPTA topologies in the future