Enabling and Measuring Complexity in Evolving Designs using Generative Representations for Artificial Architecture

As the complexity of evolutionary design problems grow, so too must the quality of solutions scale to that complexity. In this research, we develop a genetic programming system with individuals encoded as tree-based generative representations to address scalability. This system is capable of multi-objective evaluation using a ranked sum scoring strategy. We examine Hornby's features and measures of modularity, reuse and hierarchy in evolutionary design problems. Experiments are carried out, using the system to generate three-dimensional forms, and analyses of feature characteristics such as modularity, reuse and hierarchy were performed. This work expands on that of Hornby's, by examining a new and more difficult problem domain. The results from these experiments show that individuals encoded with those three features performed best overall. It is also seen, that the measures of complexity conform to the results of Hornby. Moving forward with only this best performing encoding, the system was applied to the generation of three-dimensional external building architecture. One objective considered was passive solar performance, in which the system was challenged with generating forms that optimize exposure to the Sun. The results from these and other experiments satisfied the requirements. The system was shown to scale well to the architectural problems studied

Evolutionary Design Using Rewriting Systems

V této práci byla navržena a implementována metoda pro evoluční návrh přepisovacích systémů. Pomocí genetického algoritmu jsou navrhována pravidla pro specifickou variantu Lindenmayerova systému. Navržené gramatiky jsou následně interpretovány jako rostoucí řadicí sítě. Byly prozkoumány různé přístupy interpretace L-systému na řadící sítě. Bude ukázáno, že evoluce je schopna navrhnout přepisovací systém pro částečně rostoucí sítě. Mezi nejlepší výsledky patří L-systémy navržené evolucí pro tvorbu sítí s 24 vstupy, které jsou schopny v dalších derivacích vytvořit síť až o 36 vstupech.This master’s thesis proposes a method for the evolutionary design of rewriting systems. In particular, genetic algorithm will be applied to design rewriting rules for a specific variant of Lindenmayer system. The evolved rules of such grammar will be applied to generate growing sorting networks. Some distinct approaches to the rewriting process and construction of the sorting networks will be investigated. It will be shown that the evolution is able to successfully design rewriting rules for the proposed variants of rewriting processes. The results obtained exhibit abilities to successfully create partially growing sorting networks, which was evolved to grow for fewer inputs and in subsequent iterations grows up to 36 inputs.

Emergência da inteligência em agentes autônomos através de modelos inspirados na natureza /

Tese (Doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico

Growing Brains in Silico: Integrating Biochemistry, Genetics and Neural Activity in Neurodevelopmental Simulations

Biologists\u27 understanding of the roles of genetics, biochemistry and activity in neural function is rapidly improving. All three interact in complex ways during development, recovery from injury and in learning and memory. The software system NeuroGene was written to simulate neurodevelopmental processes. Simulated neurons develop within a 3D environment. Protein diffusion, decay and receptor-ligand binding are simulated. Simulations are controlled by genetic information encoded using a novel programming language mimicking the control mechanisms of biological genes. Simulated genes may be regulated by protein concentrations, neural activity and cellular morphology. Genes control protein production, changes in cell morphology and neural properties, including learning. We successfully simulate the formation of topographic projection from the retina to the tectum. We propose a novel model of topography based on simulated growth cones. We also simulate activitydependent refinement, through which diffuse connections are modified until each retinal cell connects to only a few target cells

Evaluation and modelling of perceived audio quality in popular music, towards intelligent music production

This thesis addresses three fundamental questions: What is mixing? What makes a high-quality mix? How can high-quality mixes be automatically generated? While these may seem essential to the very foundations of intelligent music production, this thesis argues that they have not been sufficiently addressed in previous studies. An important contribution is the questioning of previously-held definitions of a 'mix'. Experiments were conducted in which participants used traditional mixing interfaces to create mixes using gain, panning and equalisation. The data was analysed in a novel 'mix-space', 'panning-space' and 'tone-space' in order to determine if there is a consensus in how these tools are used. Methods were developed to create mixes by populating the mix-space according to parametric models. These mixes were characterised by signal features, the distributions of which suggest tolerance bounds for automated mixing systems. This was complemented by a study of real-world music mixes, containing hundreds of mixes each for ten songs, collected from on-line communities. Mixes were shown to vary along four dimensions: loudness/dynamics, brightness, bass and stereo width. The variations between individual mix engineers were also studied, indicating a small effect of the mix engineer on mix preference ratings (eta2 = 0.021). Perceptual audio evaluation revealed that listeners appreciate 'quality' in a variety of ways, depending on the circumstances. In commercially-released music, 'quality' was related to the loudness/dynamic dimension. In mixes, 'quality' is highly correlated with 'preference'. To create mixes which maximised perceived quality, a novel semi-automatic mixing system was developed using evolutionary computation, wherein a population of mixes, generated in the mix-space, is guided by the subjective evaluations of the listener. This system was evaluated by a panel of users, who used it to create their ideal mixes, rather than the technically-correct mixes which previous systems strived for. It is hoped that this thesis encourages the community to pursue subjectively motivated methods when designing systems for music-mixing

Peopled Landscapes (Terra Australis 34)

This impressive collection celebrates the work of Peter Kershaw, a key figure in the field of Australian palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. Over almost half a century his research helped reconceptualize ecology in Australia, creating a detailed understanding of environmental change in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Within a biogeographic framework one of his exceptional contributions was to explore the ways that Aboriginal people may have modified the landscape through the effects of anthropogenic burning. These ideas have had significant impacts on thinking within the fields of geomorphology, biogeography, archaeology, anthropology and history. Papers presented here continue to explore the dynamism of landscape change in Australia and the contribution of humans to those transformations. The volume is structured in two sections. The first examines evidence for human engagement with landscape, focusing on Australia and Papua New Guinea but also dealing with the human/environmental histories of Europe and Asia. The second section contains papers that examine palaeoecology and present some of the latest research into environmental change in Australia and New Zealand. Individually these papers, written by many of Australia’s prominent researchers in these fields, are significant contributions to our knowledge of Quaternary landscapes and human land use. But Peopled Landscapes also signifies the disciplinary entanglement that is archaeological and biogeographic research in this region, with archaeologists and environmental scientists contributing to both studies of human land use and palaeoecology. Peopled Landscapes reveals the interdisciplinary richness of Quaternary research in the Australasian region as well as the complexity and richness of the entangled environmental and human pasts of these lands