In this section, we discuss the details of an experiment aimed at creating a successful solver of the modular retina problem. In our experiment, we use this problem as a benchmark to test the ability of the ES-HyperNEAT method to discover modular topologies in the phenotype ANN.
Modular retina experiment setup
The initial substrate configuration
As described earlier in the chapter, the retina has dimensions of 4x2, with two 2x2 areas, one on the left side and one on the right side. The particulars of the retina geometry must be represented in the geometry of the initial substrate configuration. In our experiment, we use a three-dimensional substrate, as shown in the following diagram:
The initial substrate configuration
As...