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About 3D Virtual Creature Evolution
This application is an example of
evolutionary computing
that you can run on your own Windows PC at home (see the
download
section). It uses a process similar to biological
evolution to gradually evolve a population of virtual creatures in a 3D graphical and physical
environment. Much of the inspiration for this project came from the wonderful work of Karl Sims.
In the mid 90's Dr. Sims did something very similar, using an evolutionary algorithm to evolve
the body plans and control systems of virtual creatures whose bodies were composed of jointed
blocks. His creatures were evolved in simulated land and water environments for their ability to
swim, walk, jump, follow a light source, and compete against opponents for control of a resource.
See the
related projects
section for links some videos from Dr. Sims and links to other virtual creature evolution projects).
With this program you can watch a process of simulated Darwinian evolution unfold before your eyes
(although the process can take several days of computer time depending on your computer speed and
your evolution settings). The user is given control of many of the parameters of the evolution such
as the size of the creature population, the mutation rate, the ability for which the creatures will
be evolved, and many other settings. Users are encouraged to send me any interesting creatures they
should happen to produce for inclusion in the
Zoo
.
There are already numerous strange and interesting virtual creatures on display there, with many more to come.
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