Dynamical blueprints: exploiting levels of system-environment interaction

Developmental systems typically produce a phenotype through a generative process whose outcome depends on feedback from the environment. In most artificial developmental systems, this feedback occurs in one way: The environment affects the development process, but the development process does not necessarily affect the environment. Here we explore a condition where both the developing system and the environment affect each other on a similar timescale, thus resulting in system-environment dynamical interaction. Using a model inspired by termite nest construction, we demonstrate how evolution can exploit this system-environment dynamics to generate adaptive and self-repairing structure more efficiently than a purely reactive developmental system. Finally, we offer a metric to quantify the level of interaction and distinguish between reactive and interactive developmental systems.