Karl Sims - Evolved Virtual Creatures, Evolution Simulation, 1994

[Ron Obvious]

This video shows results from a research project involving simulated Darwinian evolutions of virtual block creatures. A population of several hundred creatures is created within a supercomputer, and each creature is tested for their ability to perform a given task, such the ability to swim in a simulated water environment. Those that are most successful survive, and their virtual genes containing coded instructions for their growth, are copied, combined, and mutated to make offspring for a new population. The new creatures are again tested, and some may be improvements on their parents. As this cycle of variation and selection continues, creatures with more and more successful behaviors can emerge.

[Lordquinton]

1. So cool!

You see excerpts and .gifs from this here and there, but the explanation is usually not connected.

[hunter]

2. 1994 supercomputers were about as powerful as a Playstation 3 or Xbox 360

Modern gaming desktops are capable of much more sophisticated simulations.

Here's some more critters:

These same evolutionary algorithms can be used in the development of actual robots.

Anyone with a fairly recent computer can do this kind of research.

Computer "learning" can work in similar ways.

Here's some walking virtual robots:

Sad falling down creatures and other horrors start about one minute into the video, and it gets worse when the experimenters start throwing boxes at their creations...