Delicate Balance - Evolved Virtual Creature

The "Pirouette" population was allowed to evolve for a further 18,000 generations but with a different fitness function. This is the resulting creature.

3DVCE on the web:
http://www.stellaralchemy.com/lee/virtual_creatures.html

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• 3D
• virtual
• creature
• evolution
• genetic
• algorithm
• programming
• simulation
• physics
• artificial
• life
• intelligence
• software
• fitness
• graphics
• population
• animation
• adaptation
• generations
• computation
• morphology

[JASONE1986]

@kjlg74 and 2nd question:

can we build a "goal" based on traces on the ground that the parents did, maybe build a family tree based on traces on the ground and not to cross the family tree again is a goal, i think the creatures would be more diverse and spezialized on their "task"

[JASONE1986]

@kjlg74 is it able to edit the creature brains with a text editor? do you got a documentation for the ,creature format?

[kjlg74]

@JASONE1986 There is a fixed number of genes that control body shape. Beyond designing their roles and their effects years ago during development of the program, I haven't tuned them. The creatures can tune them using evolution, but they cannot add more genes.

The genes that control the brain can increase in number, though, up to a limit. The creatures can tune them and add new ones using evolution. I've never tuned them myself. I'd need to build some kind of tool to do that. I might, one day.

[JASONE1986]

@kjlg74 what i meant was "tuning" the body settings like inserting own "genes" based on formula

[kjlg74]

@JASONE1986 Hi JASONE1986. Sorry that I overlooked your last comment until now! The symmetry you were asking about is not currently an option that can be turned on or off. It's always available to the creatures, but it's under genetic control, so sometimes they evolve symmetric bodies and sometimes they don't - it's like a genetic switch - a mutation could turn it on or off. Nothing to do with the creature brains, though.

[JASONE1986]

@kjlg74 sure, you have tuned the body settings??

[kjlg74]

@JASONE1986 I'm not sure I know what you're referring to. There are no mirror effects being used here. Do you mean the two-way symmetry in the creature's body?

[kjlg74]

@konstiblum Thanks. I had forgotten that Sims made mention of that in one of his papers. I should re-read those.

[konstiblum]

@kjlg74 once you have procedurally generated the organic skin mesh for your creature, the process of animating it would rather be called "mesh deformation". the skeletal animation is already provided through your evolved creature.

[konstiblum]

@kjlg74 It is funny that karl sims originally had this idea somewhere in the last century. he mentioned it at the end of a paper. it is something very obvious but strangely nobody has done it yet. i think it would make evolved creatures more likeable for a more general, less technically inclined audience.