Connectionists: relevant dissertation on evolved virtual creatures

[Dan Lessin]

Hi, everyone.

I'm writing to let you know that my dissertation (along with my 
doctorate!) is complete, since it contains some material that may be 
relevant to group members' interests.

The title is "Evolved Virtual Creatures as Content: Increasing Behavioral 
and Morphological Complexity" (abstract below), and it can be found online 
at http://nn.cs.utexas.edu/?lessin:phd14 .

Of course, I would welcome any comments or questions that you might have.

Best wishes for the new year,

Dan Lessin
dles at itu.dk


Abstract:

Throughout history, creature-based content has been a highly valued source 
of entertainment. With the introduction of evolved virtual creatures (or 
EVCs) by Karl Sims in 1994, a new source of creature content became 
available. Despite their immediate appeal, however, EVCs still lag far 
behind their natural counterparts: Neither their morphology nor their 
behavior is sufficiently complex. This dissertation presents three 
contributions to address this problem. First, the ESP system, which 
combines a human-designed syllabus with encapsulation and 
conflict-resolution mechanisms, is used to approximately double the state 
of the art in behavioral complexity for evolved virtual creatures. Second, 
an extension to ESP is presented that allows full morphological adaptation 
to continue beyond the initial skill. It produces both a greater variety 
of solutions and solutions with higher fitness. Third, a muscle-drive 
system is demonstrated to embody a significant degree of physical 
intelligence. It increases morphological complexity and reduces demands on 
the brain, thus freeing resources for more complex behaviors. Together, 
these contributions bring evolved virtual creatures, in both action and 
form, a significant step closer to matching the entertainment value of 
creatures from the real world.