Reproduction occurs when the reproduction behavior of a bot is triggered, and it is able to find a suitable mate . Half of the REALbot s total energy is then supplied to this hybrid offspring. Our program implements several evolutionary mechanisms during reproduction. Mutation is one of the most important factors in adapting to radical changes in the environment, and it is a factor in every genetic trait that a REALbot inherits. This results in the occasional generation of radically altered alleles, some of which should be beneficial, leading to more successful REALbots.
Mutation is an important mechanism of evolution, but crossover, is the heart of the matter.
The genomes of the parent REALbots are crossed at various places, reproducing the effect of multiple chromosomes and multi-point crossovers. Thus, some portions of the child s genome derive almost directly from one parent, while other portions derive from the other parent. It is well known that most genes could be classified as dominant or recessive. Our program tries to simulate that, by employing a second set of alleles. One set, which is dominant, completely establishes the REALbot s traits and behavior, while the other, which is recessive, has no effect on the REALbot s behavior.