TAM6 - Evolved Virtual Creatures Video

This is the evolved virtual creatures video clip I showed during my presentation at the TAM6 conference on June 22nd, 2008 in Las Vegas. It's a collection of short clips from various interesting creatures evolved with my 3DVCE software.

The textures with which the creatures are painted were not evolved. I painted the creatures with those textures to spice up the video :)

The project website is:
http://www.stellaralchemy.com/lee/virtual_creatures.html

Music:
"Artificial Creations"
Subversive Activity
(www.subversounds.com)
Psydom Recordz
Creative Commons License
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
The original work has been modified

Textures:
Most textures copyright:
Jacob A. Ewing
(www.weirdly.net)
Used with permission.

"5ice2", "2ndgold1", "2dirtgras1", "snowdft7_60_2", "snowmud7_60",
"marbledamage1", "grasgrn3_60", "edit_stuccowallwhite", "dirt1_60",
"3concgrav1", "4shrub1", "3paper2", "2bedsheet1"
By: 60secs (Flikr.com)
Creative Commons License
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en_CA)

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• 3D
• virtual
• creature
• evolution
• genetic
• algorithm
• TAM6

[MarshmallowRadiation]

I love how some creatures are eerily familiar, such as the frogs and lobsters, yet some are bizarre and alien, like the walking necklace or end-over-end worm.

[kjlg74]

@MarshmallowRadiation Thanks! :)

[Drecon84]

This tuff is what got me into genetic algorithms in the first place. This specific field is very evocative and whether or not it's useful I don't know but at the very least it proves evolution is possible :) Take that creationists ;-)

[kjlg74]

@Drecon84 It is definitely one of the most interesting fields in AI :) And definitely useful as well - it gets used in all sorts of domains. Google the "x-band" antenna from NASA's "ST5" mission for an interesting example.

[looseskrewz]

How do you load multiple creatures into a simulation....I want to load about 20 of the same creature into a sim and just watch them.

[MediaFilter]

The soundtrack is a hardcore remix of the Baldur's Gate theme... lol.

[SpiroEx]

@MarshmallowRadiation Odd. I thought I'd removed my comment to you as it actually was directed at Drecon84 but I had accidentally misposted to the same person. That was kind of my point. The whole "Take that creationists"" comment from Drecon just stuck in my craw because I don't feel this program gives me any pause in my beliefs in both God and science. So your point stands. This program has nothing to do with the formation of living cells and therefore is hardly one in the eye for creationists

[MarshmallowRadiation]

@SpiroEx This program has nothing to do with the formation of living cells from nonliving matter (these simulated "creatures" aren't even made of cells), just the evolution from a randomly generated species not suited to an environment at all to one that can actually accomplish the goal of its environment.

And also, abiogenesis isn't some freak accidental process where fully functional living things just pop out of mush like magic. It's a very long, multi-stage process.

[SpiroEx]

@Drecon84 This program requires a programmed structure and predefined parameters. If I switched on my computer and my normal art package had produced these creatures then maybe my belief in creation theory would be challenged. These are useful in AI because programmed evolution bears some similarity to the way the brain develops thought but don't mistake them for a proof of concept of evolution per se. The program would have to be a whole lot more complex to do that.

[Photon98]

Could it be ever possible to create semi-intelligent human?

[Drecon84]

@kjlg74 Wow, that's really interesting. I really didn't know NASA was convinced yet of the use of genetic algorithms because it's so hard to prove the end result always works. Thanks for the link.