Stand-Up Centipede - Evolved Virtual Creature

This creature was evolved using the fitness function: G(A+M)
where..

G is the fraction of time spent touching the ground

A is the average height above the ground (of the creature's center of mass)

M is the maximum net increase in height above the ground (also center of mass) during evaluation

Want to evolve unique creatures of your own? Visit the project web page at:
http://www.stellaralchemy.com/lee/virtual_creatures.html

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• 3D
• virtual
• creature
• evolution
• genetic
• algorithm

[MaestroAlvis]

I love how well the music is timed with the first movements. I really wanted to make something like this thinking it would be easy. Just something that tries to get as high into the air as possible. I started but it's still got a ways to go.

[kjlg74]

@MaestroAlvis Thanks!

And feel free to send your creature my way if it evolves into anything interesting.

[kjlg74]

"representation --> representING" (typo)

That's another one of my flaws: I can *never* (never never ever!) type anything without making typos ;P

[kjlg74]

...so instead of trying to explain more, I'll stick with my original advice - find some kind of tutorial on-line. Gotta be some out there.

[kjlg74]

:D

Actually, I'm normally rotten for replying on youtube (a combination of laziness and the rest of life eating up my time). But anyway... about the genetic programming stuff - it involves representation computer programs as tree structures. For example, there might be a "*" (multiplication) node in the tree that has two sub-branches. Each branch computes something, and the two results get multiplied. That result then gets pass on up the tree. Well - YT comments are not adequate...

[novaprecog]

wow O_o biggest reply ever !

thank you very much. i will now spend my night messing with the file and searching for genetic programming even though i dont understand much about that. thanks again !

[kjlg74]

...and that's the super-short in-a-nutshell explanation.

[kjlg74]

As for creature brains, there's a bit of explanation in my how-to videos, but not a lot. To understand the general principles, I'd say to hunt down some intro documents, videos, or tutorials on something called "genetic programming". Basically they evolve small computer programs to control various aspects of their "muscles", one for desired joint angles, one for max torque, one for extra calculations. Each type of body part has its own unique copies of such programs...

[kjlg74]

...so give it some time.

Watch out for the painfully slow frame rate, and don't forget to change "doing_special_loading" back to zero before you try to launch or continue an evolution.

[kjlg74]

...of creature, 3) "spec_load_creature_angle" --> angle of the creature (in degrees, if I recall correctly), and 4) "spec_load_creature_file" --> the actual .creature file.

For any of these multiple-creature loading options, the way it works is first) modify constants.txt as above, second) run 3DVCE, third) load correct settings for the creatures you're about to load, and then fourth) load a creature. Instead of loading one, it will load many - it may appear 2B frozen as it loads them...