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Niche Constructing Drawing Robots

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Computational Intelligence in Music, Sound, Art and Design (EvoMUSART 2017)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNTCS,volume 10198))

Abstract

This paper describes a series of experiments in creating autonomous drawing robots that generate aesthetically interesting and engaging drawings. Based on a previous method for multiple software agents that mimic the biological process of niche construction, the challenge in this project was to re-interpret the implementation of a set of evolving software agents into a physical robotic system. In this new robotic system, individual robots try to reinforce a particular niche defined by the density of the lines drawn underneath them. The paper also outlines the role of environmental interactions in determining the style of drawing produced.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Although of course humans may appreciate the aesthetics and creativity too!.

  2. 2.

    This fascination does extend to conventional human artists using computers as well – recent David Hockney exhibitions have included numerous works painted using iPhone and iPad apps that are exhibited showing the paint strokes the artist made in real time, revealing the artist’s drawing process as it occurred.

  3. 3.

    The propensity to reproduce is also determined by a separate allele in the genome, which effectively controls the density of offspring lines created by the agent.

  4. 4.

    https://www.pololu.com/product/2150.

  5. 5.

    See http://www.mbed.com for more details.

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Acknowledgments

Nick Jones worked on the Stenaptinus insignis robots as an Industrial Design student in our lab. This research was supported by Australian Research Council Discovery Project grants DP1094064 and DP160100166.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. sensiLab, Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Caulfield East, Australia

    Jon McCormack

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  1. Jon McCormack
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Correspondence to Jon McCormack .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Coimbra , Coimbra, Portugal

    João Correia

  2. RMIT University , Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Vic Ciesielski

  3. University of Malta , Msida, Malta

    Antonios Liapis

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McCormack, J. (2017). Niche Constructing Drawing Robots. In: Correia, J., Ciesielski, V., Liapis, A. (eds) Computational Intelligence in Music, Sound, Art and Design. EvoMUSART 2017. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 10198. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55750-2_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55750-2_14

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