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Alife Digest Number 081
Alife Digest, Number 081
Monday, August 3rd 1992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ Artificial Life Distribution List ~
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~ alife-request@cognet.ucla.edu ~
~ All software, tech reports to Alife depository through ~
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~ ~
~ List maintainers: Liane Gabora and Rob Collins ~
~ Artificial Life Research Group, UCLA ~
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today's Topics:
Calendar of Alife-related Events
Information on Ecological Simulators Requested
Information on Behavior Based Mobile Robot Simulators Requested
PolyWorld Ecological Simulator Available
ALife III Conference Report, Hugo de Garis, ETL, Japan.
NY Newsday Story on ALife
Tierra Update: V3.13
Conference AISB'93: 2nd CFP and Revised Submission Date
PPSN Conference Program
The Second BEAM Robot Olympics and Micromouse Competition
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 92 11:19:54 -0700
From: liane@CS.UCLA.EDU (Liane Gabora)
Subject: Calendar of Alife-related Events
**********************************************************************
10th European Conference on AI Aug 3-7, 1992
13th International Congress on Cybernetics, Belgium Aug 24-28, 1992
Autopoiesis and Perception, Dublin, Ireland Aug 25-26, 1992 v76
9th Brazilian Symposium on AI, Rio de Janeiro Oct 5-8, 1992 v79
Worshop on Neural Networks, Liverpool, England Sep 7-8, 1992 v74
Parallel Problem Solving from Nature, Brussels Sep 28-30, 1992 v77
State of the Art in Ecological Modelling, Kiel Germany Sep 28-Oct 2, 1992
Neural Processing Information Systems (NIPS), Denver Nov 28-Dec 3, 1992 v73
Simulation of Adaptive Behavior, Honolulu, Hawaii Dec 7-11, 1992 v74
International Conference on System Sciences, Hawaii Jan 5-8, 1993 v74
Conf on Neural Networks, San Francisco CA Mar 28-Apr 1, 1993 v79
Conf on Fuzzy Systems, San Francisco CA Mar 28-Apr 1, 1993 v79
AI and Simulation of Behaviour Conf, Birmingham UK Mar 29-Apr 2, 1993 v75
Intnl Conf on Neural Nets and GAs, Innsbruck, Austria Apr 13-16, 1993 v80
BEAM Robot Olympics, Toronto Canada Apr 22-25, 1993 v81
Intnl Workshop Neural Networks, Barcelona Spain June 9-11, 1993 v76
Fifth Intnl Conf on GAs, Urbana-Champaign IL July 17-22, 1993 v80
(Send announcements of other activities to alife@cognet.ucla.edu)
**********************************************************************
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 92 15:38:36 +0100
From: B M Wightman <Benedict.M.Wightman@computing-maths.cardiff.ac.uk>
Hello, I'm wondering if anyone here (for I know not where else to look)
knows of any information that might be floating around about the Echo
system detailed in Holland's updated "Adaptation in Natural and Artificial
Systems". I'm researching (O.K., trying to research) ecosystems in AL worlds,
and I'd like to hear anything that's going on it.
If anyone has any ideas, or other places to look, could they let me
(Ben Wightman) know on scmbmw@cm.cf.ac.uk.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 92 11:43:40 -0400
From: John S. Zelek <zelek@macondo.mcrcim.mcgill.edu>
Does anyone out there have simulation software for experimenting
with mobile robot behaviors, using approaches like Brook's
subsumption architecture. Is there any public domain
software that allows visualization of the emergence of the
collection of simple behaviors?
If you have any information with regards to these topics,
please send me e-mail. I can provide a list of available
software, to those that are interested, if I get any responses.
please reply to: zelek@mcrcim.mcgill.edu
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 20 Jul 92 13:44:21 -0700
From: larryy@apple.com
Subject: PolyWorld ecological simulator available
The source code for the PolyWorld ecological simulator is now (finally)
available via anonymous ftp from ftp.apple.com (130.43.2.3), in the
/pub/polyworld directory. It should run on any Silicon Graphics machine
configured to provide 1280x1024 resolution with 24 bits of color; a
geometry engine is probably required for reasonable performance.
There are 2 further subdirectories and a few files there currently. A
"README" file explains a little about how to work with all the other files.
Currently, a Microsoft Word-formatted preprint of my ALife III paper
describing PolyWorld (PW) is there also, in two separate files. One file
contains all the text (and is reasonably small), and the other a couple of
color figures (which makes for a fairly large file). I hope to be able to
place PostScript versions there soon, that can be printed directly from a
unix machine; the current versions will need to be moved to a Macintosh (or
possibly a PC if a DOS version of Word can read Macintosh Word formatted
files - I don't know). These wordprocessor documents need to be
transferred using the binary mode.
There is also a very brief, plain text "pw.doc" file that contains
information about command-line options and run-time options for controlling
PW.
The subdirectories are "rev19", the current version of the source code, and
"CC", some auxiliary files needed only if you wish to bring up PW under an
old Irix 3.2 system using AT&T's C++ compiler (if you are using Irix 4.0.1
and SGI's C++ compiler these "CC" files are not needed at all).
Also present in the rev19 subdirectory are a couple of sample "world files"
that provide the simulation parameters to PW. The file that PW reads by
default, "worldfile" has a small simulation that will run fairly quickly,
and "51.wf" corresponds to the "latest simulation" shown at the ALife III
conference.
(By the way, so there's no misunderstanding or disappointment, all the PW
video I showed at the conference, except for the toy world used to show the
individual behaviors close up, had all been sped up significantly relative
to the actual computation time; I think I mentioned this, but must not have
made it very clear, as I had multiple questions about this after the talk.
The larger simulations take up to 15 sec per frame, while the smallest
"successful" simulation so far takes about 1 sec per frame -- neither one
would you learn much from or enjoy watching for any length of time at an
unaccelerated speed. Some imagery was generated by recording to a security
system style time-lapse recorder; some was generated using true
single-frame animation techniques.)
Please note that even though free use of this software is being granted, it
is Copyrighted, and these rights are retained by me and Apple Computer.
I can be reached by email at "larryy@apple.com" (the second "y" is
correct), and will be glad to try to help anyone having trouble bringing
PolyWorld up on their machine. If time permits, I will even consider
helping to modify the code to carry out special research projects, or at
least giving you pointers to the right sections of code to modify if you
give me a description of your intentions.
If you do actually install and bring up PolyWorld on your system, and are
interested in code updates, let me know your email address, and I will try
to make sure you stay informed of bug-fixes and/or new features. If you
discover any bugs in this version of the code, *please* let me know in
detail the problem (and the fix if you have one!).
I hope you find PolyWorld to be of value to your own interests and
research.
- larryy
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 92 19:06:50 JST
From: degaris@etl.go.jp (Hugo de Garis)
Subject: ALife III Conference Report, Hugo de Garis, ETL, Japan.
Dear ALifers,
Here is a quick report on the highlights of the ALife III
Conference which was held in Santa Fe, New Mexico in June 1992. It reflects the
personal biases and interests of the author.
Far and away the best paper was by Gerald Joyce, who spoke on his "evolution of
molecules" work. He takes RNA, and can mutate one, two or more specific bases,
and then clone the mutants in huge numbers. These mutants are then subject to
a selectionist test, so that only the more successful mutants survive.
The survivors are then further mutated etc, until molecules are evolved which
perform some desired function. This is probable future Nobel work. Good luck
Gerald.
John Koza used his Genetic Programming technique (evolution of Lisp programs)
to evolve self reproducing systems, and told his audience that the size of the
search space (with his primitives) was only of the order of a billion or so.
This is exciting, because its a lot less than earlier estimates (eg von Neuman's
29 state reproductive cellular automata Turing machine). It means that
it will probably be possible in a year or so to evolve selfreproductive
systems which can also do something useful. This will be essential when nano
tech is finally with us. Nanoscale machines will have to self reproduce in
order to build macroscale systems.
The biological robot (biot) community went home with the message that an
evolutionary approach to building biot nervous systems is the way to go.
Brooks-style handcrafting has become too complex and needs an evolutionary
approach. Even Brooks was talking about evolving gnat robots.
Dave Ackley showed that Lamarkian evolution can "blow the doors off" standard
GA evolutionary learning. An amusing and engaging talk.
L. Buss and W. Fontana teamed up to present a mathematical theory of the
development of systems towards life like behavior. They presented levels
0, 1, and 2, with increasing sophistication, e.g. self replication, then
genomes, etc. It was hard to follow but felt important. At the end of the
talk they claimed they had implemented it all in a computer program but
they failed to present results (and this was to an audience of
70% computer types!).
A fast-talking half-crazy Canadian (M. Tilden) upstaged Rod Brooks by showing
that he could do a lot of what Brooks does, but for a thousandth of the
price. Tilden makes ultra cheap little robots with an amazing functionality.
I hope Rod Brooks went home with the lesson. Funders take note!
Tilden will go down in ALife history for his reply to a non native english
speaker's question, "Why do you talk so fast?". Tilden's
reply was, "Whydoyoulistensoslowly?!"
J. Smits made tiny bilayer silicon strips curl up when a current is applied.
He intends to use these strips as mechanical movers for "silicon ants".
Randy Beer now uses GAs to build his insect circuits. Darwinian Robots was
one of the themes of the conference.
Maja Mataric (Brooks student) presented a video on Brooks version of swarm
intelligence. 20 robots were supposed to perform behaviors by emergence.
The video angles were too low to see effectively what was happening. Maybe
she should have done the filming in a basketball court and taken the shots
from a ladder.
Personally, I went away all fired up that "evolvable hardware" is possible.
I learned about FPGAs (software configurable hardware), so it will be possible
to treat the configuration bitstrings of FGPAs as chromosomes in a GA. Thus the
technology may exist today to fulfill my dream of building "Darwin Machines".
I just got back to Japan, so this report probably reflects my jet lag.
Cheers,
Hugo de Garis,
Electro Technical Lab (ETL), Japan.
------------------------------
From: eiverson@NMSU.Edu
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 92 16:13:54 MDT
Subject: NY Newsday story on ALife
PUBLICATION DATE Tuesday. July 21, 1992
EDITION ALL EDITIONS
SECTION DISCOVERY
HEADLINE Artificial Life Gets Real
LIFE ISN'T just a bowl of cherries.
It can be a computer program. Or a robot. Or some other
as-yet-unknown system that performs in the same way as our
carbon-and-water-based world.
At least that's the idea behind "artificial life."
This emerging field of study, a cross between biology and computer
science, aims to understand the simplest rules that govern living things
- how they replicate, evolve, organize in groups and survive. Then
its practitioners try to build creatures that follow those rules -
and that may learn and evolve enough on their own to create unforeseen
solutions to some of real life's most complex problems.
"Using artificial life and evolution methods, we suddenly have the
ability to create things that are more complicated than humans can
build, or even understand sometimes," said Karl Sims, a computer
animator at Thinking Machines, a supercomputer manufacturer in
Cambridge Mass.
Five years after it was officially launched at a conference in Sante
Fe, the study of a-life, as it's called, promises a lot more than it has
delivered. But like the real thing, artificial life is still evolving,
and some work is starting to show tantalizing results.
Some researchers are "evolving" virus-fighting drugs, molecule by
molecule, a path that may one day lead to new classes of medicines for
AIDS. Others apply a-life thinking to build simple robots that, when
massed in herds, can mimic the complex group behavior of ants or birds.
A-lifers have written programs that "grow" software, bee-bop music, or
gorgeous, Salvador Dali-like images.
Interest in the field ranges from Apple Computer and software game
designers to personnel at Los Alamos National Laboratory, a weapons
research center that recently has been exploring ocean and atmosphere
dynamics. Apple and Los Alamos were among the sponsors of a convention
of artificial life researchers last month in Santa Fe, N.M.
"What Los Alamos looks to is to be able to use new concepts to solve
large complex problems," said Richard Slandsky, leader of the lab's
theoretical division, explaining the lab's interest.
Some a-life researchers claim they are creating life forms on
computers, in silico creatures as truly alive as the bacteria studied in
vitro. Other scientists say that a-life researchers work has as much
to do with life as a picture of an aquarium has to do with fish -
interesting to look at, perhaps, but ultimately more entertaining than
illuminating. They say that, by definition, software, robots and other
things based on electronics or information systems can't be life because
they do not rely on carbon-based chemical compounds in the same way that
animals and plants do.
"Life is a self-sustained chemical system capable of undergoing
Darwinian evolution," is the definition used by NASA, which searches for
life in its interplanetary explorations.
That definition, with its emphasis on chemical processes, has a-life
researchers gnashing their teeth.
"There's nothing that says you can't have life made of different
things. It's just an accident that we're made of what we're made of,"
said Steven Levy, who spent three years researching his just-released
book, "Artificial Life: The Quest for a New Creation" (Pantheon). "Life
isn't what something's made of - it's how something behaves."
For artificial life researchers, life is a system that's based on a
set of simple, but immutable principles.
The key tenet is called emergent behavior: Life is composed of simple
organisms, cells or other basic building blocks, each following simple
rules, that interact with amazingly complex results. Look at a coral
polyp. It follows simple rules that allow cells to grow, replicate and
colonize. Put thousands of polyps together and you get the elaborate
patterns of a coral reef.
To understand living things, they argue, you must work from the
simplest level. If you are trying to understand how birds flock, start
with one bird and figure out the rules it follows that allow it to fly
in formation.
"The standard analytic method in science is start out with things
that exist and take them apart and try and find out how they work," said
Chris Langton, an a-life pioneer and Los Alamos mathematician. "Then sum
them together to get an understanding of the thing as a whole. But that
doesn't work with emergent behavior. The essential properties that are
relevant to the whole come from the actions of the pieces."
Understanding the principles that underlie life would allow one to
construct a general theory of biology, said Langton. The problem is, he
said, "you can't build a general theory of life if you just use this one
model [life on Earth] that we have."
So some a-life researchers make models of their own.
In PolyWorld, for instance, dozens of multicolored flecks zip around
on a computer screen. Each fleck has a primitive brain, built on a
simple neural network that learns from experience. Each can "see," which
helps them find the little green chunks of food floating around their
two-dimensional home. Eating gives them energy. Energy lets them fight
and reproduce.
When they reproduce, they pass on genetic coding. They mutate
randomly. They evolve based on principles of natural selection. Indeed,
list the generally accepted scientific measures of life, and they
"satisfy them all," claims Larry Yaegar of Apple Computer, who wrote the
15,000-line PolyWorld program.
"We either have to refine the criteria [that define life] or welcome
a whole new genus to the world," Yaegar told his colleagues last month
at the Santa Fe a-life convention.
Observing his creatures evolve in the rapid time-lapse speed of
computers, Yaegar has seen them figure out the rules for survival.
"Indolent cannibals," as he described one group, did little more than
"mate with each other, fight with each other and eat each other when
they die."
In one experiment, Yaegar changed PolyWorld from a free-flowing
continuous space to a tabletop, in which creatures died when they fell
off the sides. In this world, a species of "Edge Runners" learned to
skate along the perimeter. "Dervishes," which lived within tiny orbits,
also evolved.
Yaegar said this was exactly what he was hoping for: "I wanted to see
complex emergent behavior without programing any of it in." The program
needs an expensive and powerful computer work station to run, but Yaegar
said plans are in the works for a simpler version, which could run on
simpler PCs.
At the Scripps Research Institute, in La Jolla, Gerald Joyce is
looking for similar behavior, but in a starkly different environment:
The test tube. Here, Joyce, one of the country's foremost
microbiologists, is trying to "evolve populations of RNA molecules to do
what we want them to do."
Ultimately, Joyce would like the RNA molecules - molecules that
translate genetic information into proteins - to cut out and destroy a
specific portion of the HIV genome, the AIDS virus genetic matter.
"We start with an RNA molecule that exists in nature that cleaves
other RNA molecules," Joyce explained. "We make a population of such
molecules and introduce random mutations" - trillions and trillions
of them. "Then we say, `All right population, we want you to do
something different. We want you to cut DNA molecules. If you can, we
will reward you by allowing you to make new molecules."
Gradually, a population of mutated RNA molecules evolves in a space
the size of a small droplet of water. The mutated molecules would behave
like a molecular scissors to cut DNA, Joyce said.
But there's still a long way to go. Getting the precarious mutant
strains of RNA to exist in a living cell is only one of many formidable
problems Joyce and his colleagues face. "We are still learning how to
crawl," he said.
Yet the a-life techniques he is pioneering are already being used by
a half-dozen biotech drug companies. Gilead Sciences, a biotech company
in California, for instance, is "growing" an anti-clotting drug made
from DNA molecules, which it hopes to have on the market within five
years.
If you can grow medicine from molecules, can you grow music from its
simplest components?
Eric Iverson, a self-described "terminal graduate student" at New
Mexico State University, thinks you can.
Rather than trying to figure out the elements of musical composition
- notes, harmony, rhythm - Iverson concentrated on the intervals
between notes, a simple focus since it did away with key. He designed
rules that allow chains of intervals to be manufactured from a common
pool of four-interval units. That reservoir can be any piece of music
that has been reduced to four-interval units. He said he used a-life
principles to write the computer program. He ticks them off: The units
replicate and mutate; they combine according to "fitness mechanisms"
that determine whether they can couple.
So far, the largest piece of music that Iverson has evolved is a
250-note bee-bop composition, based on three Miles Davis solos. "I got a
fourth solo out of it," Iverson said, adding that the jazz buffs among
his friends "seemed to think it sounded pretty close" to a Miles Davis
solo.
On the other side of the a-life world, at Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, robots are being designed to help prepare Mars prior to a
manned landing. Attila, the most recent generation, has 11 computers and
can sense obstacles, adjust its speed and right itself if it falls off a
crater and lands on its back.
Other researchers there have created the "nerd herd" - 20
six-inch robots that work as a team.
"One of the things we're working on is figuring out the simplest set
of local rules that generate global behavior," said Maja Mataric, at the
Mobile Robot Group.
Nerds, which have four-wheel, toy-car bases, are "based on
subsumption architecture," Mataric said. Subsumption architecture "is a
way of programing robots from the bottom up, with most the basic
assumptions at the bottom." For instance, one rule for crossing a floor
might be, if you hit an object, move. "It sort of emulates evolution,"
she said.
So far, the nerd herd has demonstrated flocking behavior, like birds.
Nerds can also follow each other, like ants.
But Mataric said that finding the simple rules that underlie complex
behavior is enormously frustrating, since "tuning" rules on a nerd -
making tiny changes - can result in vastly different and
unpredictable behaviors.
"Life is really complex, even at the lowest levels," she said.
"We're not beginning to touch that complexity anywhere . . . But that's
good. It shows that this is an interesting problem."
****
And How Does Your Software Grow?
In the future, instead of writing software, computer programers may
farm it. Instead of planting seed, for instance, a programer would
sow random instructions into a supercomputer that had been programed to apply
"fitness" rules of natural selection. Then he would wait to see what
comes up.
Danny Hillis, founder and chief scientist of the supercomputer
company Thinking Machines in Cambridge, Mass., has spent six months
figuring out how to grow a sorting program that can arrange numbers,
smallest to largest, or sort words alphabetically.
The sorting program that grew inside Hillis^ computer "is much
shorter than one I could write," Hillis said. "The algorithm it uses is
something that I don't even really understand."
He hopes that one day, computers will be able to use some of the same
techniques and tackle far more complex problems, like writing software
that understands human speech. "In the long run, this offers a way of
building software that's too complex for us to understand," he said.
Hillis took a leave of absense from his company and holed up in the
mountains around Santa Fe, N.M. ("less distractions," he said) working
on the project. He decided to concentrate on using artificial life
techniques to grow a sorting program because sorting is a traditional,
and relatively simple, problem in computing.
Hillis at various times used 60 to 100 random computer instructions
that told the computer to perform simple operations, such as "exchange
two numbers," or "compare two numbers." The computer was instructed to
try random sequences of instructions to perform operations on a string
of random numbers. "The computer tries it out, judges how well it puts
things in order, and decides whether it will survive to the next
generation," Hillis said.
After months of tinkering - getting the recipe right, as Hillis
described it - the supercomputer was able to start with a random
series of instructions and a random array of numbers, and within six
hours, write a 61-line program that sorted them.
The best - meaning shortest and therefore fastest - sorting
program Hillis ever wrote by hand was 63 lines, taking far more than six
hours; the best sorting program any human ever wrote was 60 lines.
****
A Life in Loop Land
Chris Langton, a mathematician at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New
Mexico, figured out the simplest set of rules he could to create
artificial life. Here is what he created in 1979 on a personal computer.
Langton started out with "creatures" that are called loops, and that
are the equivalent of cells in an organism. As water flows through a
garden hose, information - the colored squares - flows through each
loop. The information in the simplest loop tells it to extend its tail,
to turn corners when it reaches a certain size, to separate after it has
duplicated itself and to do certain other things.
In the two pictures above, one loop has grown another loop and it is
about to divide, the equivalent of cell mitosis, a process by which real
organisms grow. The new loop contains the same information as the first
loop, which has successfully replicated itself.
A colony develops in the two pictures above. Following Langton's rules,
loops that are surrounded by three or more sides lose their ability to
reproduce and effectively die. As the outer loops continue to replicate,
a complex shape emerges in the same way that a coral reef is built from
simple coral polyps.
Langton loops, Chris Langton; Cellular automata, Stephen Wolfram
{COPYRIGHT}1992; Artificial Life: The Quest for a New Creation by Steven
Levy, Pantheon Books
**END OF STORY REACHED**
ENTER N(next story), C(next context), T(total story), NT(next take)
PT(prev take), S(save), QUIT(switch databases), EXIT(terminate display)
/
--
josh quittner
voice: 516-454-2806
quit@newsday.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Eric Iverson Internet: eiverson@nmsu.edu
Computing Research Lab
Box 30001/3CRL Life is something to do when
New Mexico State University you can't get to sleep.
Las Cruces, NM 88003-0001 -Fran Lebowitz
VOICE: (505) 646-5711
FAX: (505) 646-6218
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 92 10:31:33 -0600
From: ray@santafe.edu (Tom S. Ray)
Subject: Tierra Update: V3.13
TIERRA UPDATE:
Version V3.13 Now Available; Unified License Agreement; FTP Site Reorganized;
Bug Fixes; Virtual Debugger; Instruction Set Documented; Genome Injector;
Genebank Hash Function; Haploid Sex; Resolution Toggle; Diversity Tool Improved;
Chris Stephenson, Kurt Thearling and Walter Tackett visit SFI;
Future Phylogeny; Tierra in the News; Tierra Publications; Mailing Lists;
What Tierra Is;
This message contains:
1) Availability of Tierra V3.13 Source Code
a) by ftp
b) by snail mail on disk
2) Unified License Agreement
3) FTP Site Reorganized
4) Bug Fixes
5) Virtual Debugger
6) Instruction Set Documented
7) Genome Injector
8) Genebank Hash Function
9) Haploid Sex
10) Resolution Toggle
11) Diversity Tool Improved
12) Chris Stephenson, Kurt Thearling and Walter Tackett visit SFI
13) Converation with Paul Barton-Davis (Evolution of a Decision)
14) Future Phylogeny
15) Tierra Funding
16) Tierra in the News
17) Tierra Publications
18) Mailing Lists
19) What Tierra Is (If you don't know what Tierra is, read this first)
1) Availability of Tierra V3.13 Source Code
The Tierra V3.13 source code; and the source code, and DOS executables of
all tools is available now. Please note that the source code in the ftp
site and the source code provided on disk will each compile and run on either
DOS or UNIX platforms. It is exactly the same source code in either case.
The DOS executables are available only on disk, and can not be freely
distributed.
If you purchase this program on disk, thank you for your support.
If you obtain the source code through the net or friends, we invite you to
contribute an amount that represents the program's worth to you. You may
make a check in US dollars payable to Virtual Life, and mail the check to
one of the two addresses listed below.
a) by ftp
If you use the software, be sure to pick up new versions from the ftp
site. The source in the ftp site will be replaced on a roughly monthly or
bi-monthly basis.
The complete source code and documentation is available by anonymous
ftp at:
tierra.slhs.udel.edu [128.175.41.34] and
life.slhs.udel.edu [128.175.41.33]
in the directories: almond/, beagle/, doc/, and tierra/.
To get it, ftp to tierra or life, log in as user "anonymous" and give your
email address (eg. tom@udel.edu) as a password. Be sure to transfer binaries
in binary mode (it is safe to transfer everything in binary mode).
Each directory contains a compressed tar file (filename.tar.Z) and a SRC
directory that contains all the files in raw ascii format. You can just
pick up the .tar.Z files, and they will expand into the complete directory
structure with the following commands (Unix only):
uncompress tierra.tar.Z
tar oxvf tierra.tar
b) by snail mail on disk
The source code, documentation and the beagle.exe file can be distributed
freely, however, the executables (the .exe files in DOS) are for sale and
cannot be freely distributed (with the exeception of beagle.exe).
If you do not have ftp access you may obtain everything on DOS disks
by making a check for $65 (US dollars drawn on a US bank) payable to
Virtual Life. Specify 3.5" or 5.25" disks. Send the check to one of the
following addresses:
Tom Ray (January through August)
Santa Fe Institute
1660 Old Pecos Trail
Suite A
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Virtual Life (September through December)
P.O. Box 625
Newark, Delaware 19715
The DOS disks contain everything but ALmond (ALmond can be provided on
disk by request, but it only runs on a Unix platform). The disks include DOS
executables, source code and documentation. The DOS disks include an easy
installation program. This is the same source code available in the ftp
site. If you have ftp access, there is no need to buy the disks.
2) Unified License Agreement
If you have seen the earlier versions (pre V3.12), you may have noticed
that there were different license agreements for the DOS and Unix versions.
There is now a single and perhaps more coherent license agreement.
3) FTP Site Reorganized
With Version 3.11 the ftp site was reorganized. The files are no
longer distributed in shar format. They are in both raw form, and in
compressed tar files. All the documentation has been moved to the doc/
directory. The doc/ directory also includes manuscripts on Tierra in LaTeX
and Postscript formats.
4) Bug Fixes
new in V3.13:
adr() - the parse function for the adr instruction, previous to V3.13, set
is.iip = 0, which meant that the instruction pointer would not increment.
This means that if ever the adr instruction were executed, the virtual
cpu would hang on this instruction. This has been fixed in V3.13.
GarbageCollectGB() - previous to V3.13, this function (in bookeep.c) caused
some empty .gen files to be created, which would clutter up the genebank
directory. This has been fixed.
genotype histogram - there were some problems with the genotype histogram
display in V3.12, these have been fixed.
new in V3.12:
template search - Version 3.11 and earlier had a bug in the bi-directional
template search algorithm. God intended that the search should move
outward at equal rates in both directions. However, some situations
caused one direction to get ahead of the other. This does not matter
to the creatures or evolution; evolution makes due with whatever
physics or chemistry it has at hand. However, it makes it difficult
for the observer reading the genome files to tell what the outcome of
a bi-directional template search might be. Another problem with the
same algorithm is that the limit on the distance of the template
search was not properly implemented, they tend to search farther than
the intended limit. Both these bugs are fixed in V3.12.
5) Virtual Debugger
In V3.13 the virtual debugger has been spiffed up, and the system is
configured to compile with the debugger implemented, and the dubugger is
documented in the tierra.doc file. This allows the user to single step
through the code of a creature, while viewing the virutal cpu. This will
be useful to anyone writing a creature, or trying to see what a creature
does.
6) Instruction Set Documented
With V3.13, the tierra.doc file includes a new section that provides
a detailed documentation of what each of the 32 Tierran instructions actually
does.
7) Genome Injector
With V3.13, a mechanism has been provided for injecting genomes into a
running simulation. The tool is available through the menu system, and allows
a genome from the genebank to be injected into the run at the users command.
However, there is a function Inject(), in the genebank.c module, which takes
a pointer to a genome as an argument. This function can be used to inject
genomes from any source. An interesting use of this function would be to
facilitate migration of genomes between simulations running on separate
machines, creating an archipelago.
8) Genebank Hash Function
In V3.13 a hash function has been added to the genebanker. The
function CheckGenotype() applies the hash function to each new genome.
This means that when a new genotype appears, its sequence no longer must
be compare to the sequence of every same-sized genome in the bank. Generally,
only a single integer must be compared. This means that the .gen files
for V3.13 are not compatible with earlier versions.
9) Haploid Sex
An option is now available to force creatures to cross-over their genomes
with other creatures while reproducing. This feature is documented in the
tierra.doc file.
10) Resolution Toggle
In V3.12 and higher on DOS machines with a VGA display, the simulator
will come up in low resolution mode. If you select a histogram or size list
display, it will toggle into high resolution mode. When you return to the
plan display, it will toggle back into low resolution mode. This is easier
on the eyes.
11) Diversity Tool Improved
Several changes have been made to the diversity tool to improve its
utility. The divrange file now also contains the average value of each of
the eight variables, in addition to the minimum and maximum values that it
formerly contained. Also when multiple divdat.X output files are produced,
they now each contain header information so that they can be processed
independently by the diversity graphics tools in Beagle. To facilitate this,
a brkrange file is also produced which contains the maximum value of each
variable at the end of each divdat.X file.
12) Chris Stephenson, Kurt Thearling and Walter Tackett visit SFI
Kurt Thearling of Thinking Machines Corporation (kurt@think.com) is
visiting the Santa Fe Institute from June 12 through May 12 to work on the
Tierra project. His primary objective will be to port Tierra to the CM5.
Chris Stephenson of the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center
(cjs@yktem.vnet.ibm.com) will visit SFI from June 29 through July 13 to work
on the Tierra project. His primary objective will be to provide a new memory
allocator for Tierra. He will use a memory allocation scheme that he
developed, which will allow us to specify where we would like the new
creature to be placed in memory.
Walter Tackett of Hughes Aircraft (tackett@ipld01.hac.com) will visit
SFI from June 12 through July 3. His main objective will be discuss his work
in applying artificial selection to Tierran creatures in order to evolve them
to do ``useful'' work.
13) Converation with Paul Barton-Davis (Evolution of a Decision)
At the recent Artificial Life III conference in Santa Fe I had an
interesting conversation with Paul Barton-Davis (pauld@cs.washington.edu)
about his work with his own implementation of Tierra. Paul built his version
of Tierra from scratch, but used the same instruction set described in Ray's
publications. However, one thing he did differently was to eliminate the
reaper. Instead his creatures become increasingly flawed as they age, and
eventually die from these effects. One of the consequences of this is that
free memory is not always available when a creature requests it. Paul
provided the following details:
You might or might want to note the other conditions that, in addition
to the reaper-removal, led to this adapatation and that are absent in
the release version of Tierra:
1) a memory allocator that uses virtual memory addresses beginning at
1, not zero (thus creating a "flag" value that can specifically
and easily be tested for by a tierran creature).
2) selection pressure (via the slice size) for medium size
creatures (256 to 5K instructions in size) (gaussian
distribution of slice size around a mean creature size
of about 2K)
3) memory protect bits turned on, and used in a significant fashion.
4) a more complex ancestor, although the copy code is almost
identical to Ray's 80aaa.
An adaptation which evolved under these conditions is the first example
I know of in which a Tierran creature evolved a decision making mechanism.
If memory is not available when a creature requests it, the memory allocator
returns a value of zero in the AX register, rather than the address of the
allocated block. The adaptation then, is to somehow move the value in the
AX register into CX (for example by first pushing AX onto the stack and then
popping that value into the CX register). Then the creature executes if_cz,
which tests to see if the CX register is zero. If CX is not zero, the
creature proceeds with reproduction, if CX is zero the creature executes some
code which leads to making another request for memory rather than trying to
copy the genome without having a cell to copy it into. Paul provided the
following details:
I recall seeing both:
mal ; 111
push_ax ; 111
pop_cx ; 111
if_cz ; 111
as well as the slightly more expensive:
mal ; 111
mov_ab ; 111
push_bx ; 111
pop_cx ; 111
if_cz ; 111
14) Future Phylogeny
At the moment, the primary effort in new code development is dedicated
to an extension to the genebanker that will produce an ironclad phylogeny.
The requires that we trace the genetic source of every instruction written
into every creature. Stay tuned.
15) Tierra Funding
The National Science Foundation has awared a Small Grant for Exploratory
Research to Dr. Ray to support the Tierra project. The grant is titled:
``Computer Architectures for the Natural Evolution of Machine Code''. It
is jointly funded through the Computer Systems Architecutre program and the
Computational Biology Activities programs.
16) Tierra in the News
The Tierra Simulator has been widely reported in the media. Below is a
list of most of the national or international reports that I am aware of.
If you know of some news report not on this list, please send me a hard
copy.
Nature (John Maynard Smith, UK) February 27, 1992: ``Byte-sized evolution.
...we badly need a comparative biology. So far, we have been able to study
only one evolving system and we cannot wait for interstellar flight to
provide us with a second. If we want to discover generalizations about
evolving systems, we will have to look at artificial ones. Ray's study is a
good start.''
Nature (Laurence Hurst & Richard Dawkins, UK) May 21, 1992:
``Life in a test tube.''
New York Times (Malcolm Browne, USA) August 27, 1991: ``Lively Computer
Creation Blurs Definition of Life. Software forms, obeying Darwin's rules,
vie to avoid the `reaper'.''
Science News (John Travis, USA) August 10, 1991: ``Digital Darwinism:
Electronic Ecosystem. Evolving `life' flourishes and surprises in a
novel electronic world''.
Scientific American (John Rennie, USA) January 1992: ``Cybernetic Parasites...
Tierra... has been hailed as the most sophisticated artificial-life program
yet developed...''
New Scientist (Roger Lewin, UK) February 22, 1992: ``Life and death in a
digital world. No one can turn back the evolutionary clock, but we can
follow the fate of a rich menagerie of artificial organisms as they evolve
in a model world.''
The Economist (Anon, UK) January 4, 1992: ``The meaning of `life'.
In order to understand the origin of life, scientists are switching from the
chemistry set to the computer. In the process, they are beginning to
understand what it means to be alive.''
Guardian (Jocelyn Paine, UK) January 9, 1992: ``Unravelling the loop in the
primordial soup. Tierran machine code is so adaptable it survives. Jocelyn
Paine charts the evolution of artificial life within the computer.''
Actuel (Ariel Kyrou, France) April 1992: ``Visite Guidee Aux Extremes De
La Science: La Vie Artificielle. Etes-vous pr\^{e}ts \`{a} entrer dans
l'univers vertigineux de la vie artificielle? Un champ scientifique tout neuf
sur lequel se penchent les grosses t\^{e}tes et les Nobel de labos
am\'{e}ricains.''
The Chronicle of Higher Education (David Wilson, USA) December 4, 1991:
``Approaching Artificial Life on a Computer. Survival-of-the-fittest
electronic organisms dramatically illustrate Darwinian principles.''
Mikrobitti (Pekka Tolonen, Finland) November 1991: ``Olemmeko humanoiden
biologinen koe? Tierra simuloi el\"{a}m\"{a}\"{a}.''
Europeo (Giovanni Caprara, Italy) September 1991: ``Anche il computer ha
fatto un figlio. Un biologo americano ha creato un software capace di
elaborare programmi che si evolvono da soli.''
GenteMoney (Riccardo Orizio, Italy) November 1991: ``Cos\`{\i} ho dato
la vita al software.''
Computerworld (Michael Alexander, USA) September 30, 1991: ``Tierra adds to
evolutionary studies. A computerized world created on an IBM PC could
have real-world benefits for scientists.''
Sueddeutsche Zeitung (Konrad Peters, Germany) October 21, 1991:
``Die Evolution im Computer. `K\"{u}nstliches Leben' hilft Biologen und
Informatikern auf die Spr\"{u}nge.''
Super Interessante (Anon, Brazil) November 1991: ``A vida dentro do
computador.''
Technology Review (Susan Scheck, USA) April 14, 1991: ``Is It Live Or Is
It Memory?''
Corriere Della Sera (Giovanni Capara, Italy) August 28, 1991: ``Pronto in
USA il programma che si riproduce. Il computer `padre' crea vita
informatica.''
Fakta (Tom Ottmar, Norway) March 1992: ``Den Lever! En `skabning', der
best\aa r af nuller og \'{e}nere, er vokset ud af indamaden p\aa \ en
computer og er blevet en videnskabelig sensation i USA.''
Associated Press (Theresa Humphrey, USA) October 1991: ``Bringing life to
computer. U of D biologist's program is self-replicating, shows evolution.''
Hovedomr\aa det (Jakob Skipper, Denmark) December 6, 1990: ``Kunstigt liv.
Nu kommer det kunstige liv. En voksende gruppe af dataloger, biologer,
fysikere, psykologer og mange andre forskere efterlinger p\aa \ computer
det naturlige liv.''
17) Tierra Publications
Ray, T. S. 1991. ``Is it alive, or is it GA?''
Proceedings of the 1991 International Conference on Genetic Algorithms,
Eds. Belew, R. K., and L. B. Booker, San Mateo, CA: Morgan Kaufmann, 527-534.
Ray, T. S. 1991. ``An approach to the synthesis of life.''
Artificial Life II, Santa Fe Institute Studies in the Sciences of
Complexity, vol. XI, Eds. Farmer, J. D., C. Langton, S. Rasmussen, &
C. Taylor, Redwood City, CA: Addison-Wesley, 371-408.
Ray, T. S. 1991. ``Population dynamics of digital organisms.''
Artificial Life II Video Proceedings, Ed. C.G. Langton,
Redwood City, CA: Addison Wesley.
Ray, T. S. 1991. ``Evolution and optimization of digital organisms.''
Scientific Excellence in Supercomputing: The IBM 1990 Contest Prize
Papers, Eds. Keith R. Billingsley, Ed Derohanes, Hilton Brown, III.
Athens, GA, 30602, The Baldwin Press, The University of Georgia.
18) Mailing Lists
There are two mailing lists for Tierra users. The first list is for
people who only want to get the official announcements, updates and bug-fixes.
The other will carry the official postings, and are intended for discussion
of Tierra by users. This one is distributed in digest form, when there is
enough material. The lists are:
tierra-announce official updates, patches and announcements only
tierra-digest discussion, updates, etc. (digest form)
The addresses are:
tierra-request@life.slhs.udel.edu the list administrator (Tom Uffner). to
be added, removed, or complain about
problems with any of these lists.
tierra-digest@life.slhs.udel.edu to post to the list.
tierra-bug@life.slhs.udel.edu for bug-reports or questions about the
code or installation.
You may also be interested in the Artificial Life mailing list.
Subscribe to the list by sending a message to:
alife-request@cognet.ucla.edu
Post to the list by sending a message to:
alife@cognet.ucla.edu
19) What Tierra Is
The C source code creates a virtual computer and its operating system,
whose architecture has been designed in such a way that the executable
machine codes are evolvable. This means that the machine code can be mutated
(by flipping bits at random) or recombined (by swapping segments of code
between algorithms), and the resulting code remains functional enough of the
time for natural (or presumably artificial) selection to be able to improve
the code over time.
Along with the C source code which generates the virtual computer, we
provide several programs written in the assembler code of the virtual
computer. One of these was written by a human and does nothing more than make
copies of itself in the RAM of the virtual computer. The others evolved from
the first, and are included to illustrate the power of natural selection.
The operating system of the virtual computer provides memory management
and timesharing services. It also provides control for a variety of factors
that affect the course of evolution: three kinds of mutation rates,
disturbances, the allocation of CPU time to each creature, the size of the
soup, etc. In addition, the operating system provides a very elaborate
observational system that keeps a record of births and deaths, sequences
the code of every creature, and maintains a genebank of successful genomes.
The operating system also provides facilities for automating the ecological
analysis, that is, for recording the kinds of interactions taking place
between creatures.
This system results in the production of synthetic organisms based on
a computer metaphor of organic life in which CPU time is the ``energy''
resource and memory is the ``material'' resource. Memory is organized into
informational patterns that exploit CPU time for self-replication. Mutation
generates new forms, and evolution proceeds by natural selection as different
genotypes compete for CPU time and memory space.
Diverse ecological communities have emerged. These digital communities
have been used to experimentally examine ecological and evolutionary
processes: e.g., competitive exclusion and coexistence, host/parasite density
dependent population regulation, the effect of parasites in enhancing
community diversity, evolutionary arms race, punctuated equilibrium, and the
role of chance and historical factors in evolution. This evolution in a
bottle may prove to be a valuable tool for the study of evolution and ecology.
------------------------------
Subject: Conference AISB'93: 2nd CFP and Revised Submission Date
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 92 16:28:25 BST
From: Donald Peterson <D.M.Peterson@computer-science.birmingham.ac.uk>
================================================================
AISB'93 CONFERENCE
SECOND CALL FOR PAPERS (REVISED SUBMISSION DATE)
Theme: "Prospects for AI as the General Science of Intelligence"
29 March -- 2 April 1993
University of Birmingham
================================================================
1. Introduction
2. Invited talks
3. Topic areas for submitted papers
4. Timetable for submitted papers
5. Paper lengths and submission details
6. Call for referees
7. Workshops and Tutorials
8. LAGB Conference
9. Email, paper mail, phone and fax.
1. INTRODUCTION
The Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence and the
Simulation of Behaviour (one of the oldest AI societies) will hold its
ninth bi-annual conference on the dates above at the University of
Birmingham. The site is Manor House, a charming and convivial
residential hall close to the University.
Tutorials and Workshops are planned for Monday 29th March and the
morning of Tuesday 30th March, and the main conference will start with
lunch on Tuesday 30th March and end on Friday 2nd April.
The Programme Chair is Aaron Sloman, and the Local Arrangements
Organiser is Donald Peterson, both assisted by Petra Hickey.
The conference will be "single track" as usual, with invited speakers
and submitted papers, plus a "poster session" to allow larger numbers to
report on their work, and the proceedings will be published.
The conference will cover the usual topic areas for conferences on AI
and Cognitive Science. However, with the turn of the century
approaching, and with computer power no longer a major bottleneck in
most AI research (apart from connectionism) it seemed appropriate to
ask our invited speakers to look forwards rather than backwards, and
so the theme of the conference will be "Prospects for AI as the
general science of intelligence". Submitted papers exploring this are
also welcome, in addition to the normal technical papers.
2. INVITED TALKS
So far the following have agreed to give invited talks:
Prof David Hogg (Leeds)
"Prospects for computer vision"
Prof Allan Ramsay (Dublin)
"Prospects for natural language processing by machine"
Prof Glyn Humphreys (Birmingham)
"Prospects for connectionism - science and engineering".
Prof Ian Sommerville (Lancaster)
"Prospects for AI in systems design"
Titles are provisional.
3. TOPIC AREAS for SUBMITTED PAPERS
Papers are invited in any of the normal areas represented at AI and
Cognitive Science conferences, including:
AI in Design,
AI in software engineering
Teaching AI and Cognitive Science,
Analogical and other forms of Reasoning
Applications of AI,
Automated discovery,
Control of actions,
Creativity,
Distributed intelligence,
Expert Systems,
Intelligent interfaces
Intelligent tutoring systems,
Knowledge representation,
Learning,
Methodology,
Modelling affective processes,
Music,
Natural language,
Naive physics,
Philosophical foundations,
Planning,
Problem Solving,
Robotics,
Tools for AI,
Vision,
Papers on neural nets or genetic algorithms are welcomed, but should be
capable of being judged as contributing to one of the other topic areas.
Papers may either be full papers or descriptions of work to be presented
in a poster session.
4. TIMETABLE for SUBMITTED PAPERS
Submission deadline: 15th September 1992
Date for notification of acceptances: 1st December 1992
Date for submission of camera ready final copy: 15th January 1993
The conference proceedings will be published. Long papers and invited
papers will definitely be included. Selected poster summaries may be
included if there is space.
5. PAPER LENGTH and SUBMISSION DETAILS
Full papers:
10 pages maximum, A4 or 8.5"x11", no smaller than 12 point print
size Times Roman or similar preferred, in letter quality print.
Poster submissions
5 pages summary
Excessively long papers will be rejected without being reviewed.
All submissions should include
1. Full names and addresses of all authors
2. Electronic mail address if available
3. Topic area
4. Label: "Long paper" or "Poster summary"
5. Abstract no longer than 10 lines.
6. Statement certifying that the paper is not being
submitted elsewhere for publication.
7. An undertaking that if the paper is accepted at least
one of the authors will attend the conference.
THREE copies are required.
6. CALL for REFEREES
Anyone willing to act as a reviewer during September should write to the
Programme Chair, with a summary CV or indication of status and
experience, and preferred topic areas.
7. WORKSHOPS and TUTORIALS
The first day and a half of the Conference are allocated to workshops
and tutorials. These will be organised by Dr Hyacinth S. Nwana, and
anyone interested in giving a workshop or tutorial should contact him
at:
Department of Computer Science,
University of Keele,
Staffs.
ST5 5BG.
U.K.
phone: +44 782 583413, or +44 782 621111(x 3413)
email
JANET: nwanahs@uk.ac.keele.cs
BITNET: nwanahs%cs.kl.ac.uk@ukacrl
UUCP : ...!ukc!kl-cs!nwanahs
other : nwanahs@cs.keele.ac.uk
8. LAGB CONFERENCE.
Shortly before AISB'93, the Linguistics Association of Great Britain
(LAGB) will hold its Spring Meeting at the University of Birmingham
from 22-24th March, 1993. For more information, please contact Dr.
William Edmondson: postal address as below; phone +44-(0)21-414-4763;
email EDMONDSONWH@vax1.bham.ac.uk
9. EMAIL, PAPER MAIL, PHONE and FAX.
Email:
* aisb93-prog@cs.bham.ac.uk
(for communications relating to submission of papers to the programme)
* aisb93-delegates@cs.bham.ac.uk
(for information on accommodation, meals, programme etc. as it
becomes available --- enquirers will be placed on a mailing list)
Address:
AISB'93 (prog) or AISB'93 (delegates),
School of Computer Science,
The University of Birmingham,
Edgbaston,
Birmingham,
B15 2TT,
U.K.
Phone:
+44-(0)21-414-3711
Fax:
+44-(0)21-414-4281
Donald Peterson, April 1992.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 92 17:53:10 +0200
From: bernard@ARTI1.VUB.AC.BE(Bernard Manderick)
Subject: Re: PPSN Conference Program in your next issue?
CONFERENCE PROGRAM
PPSN 92
Parallel Problem Solving from Nature
Free University of Brussels
Brussels, 28-30 September 1992
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
Sixty high-quality papers from the more than one hunderd submitted
have been selected for presentation at the PPSN-conference.
Just like during the last ICGA and PPSN conferences, most of the
emphasis will be on poster presentations. This promotes active interaction
between researchers and the interested people.
Only eight papers have been selected for oral presentation. Each
speaker gets fourty five minutes including questions. The selection
was based on criteria like 1) how well the presentation could set the
stage for the related poster session, and 2) how well it could
stimulate the following discussion. Again, this has been done to
promote active participation of the attendees.
Besides the poster and oral presentations we have invited three
speakers from outside the ICGA and PPSN communities: one biologist and
two physicists. Each one will give a seventy five talk including
questions. We hope that their talks will inspire researchers from the
evolutionary computation community.
For the registration information please see GA List v6n20 (Volume: 6,
Issue: 20) or contact
Bernard Manderick
AI Lab VUB
Pleinlaan 2
B-1050 Brussels
Belgium
tel.: +32/2/641.35.75
fax: +32/2/641.35.82
email: bernard@arti.vub.ac.be
ppsn@arti.vub.ac.be
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROGRAM
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MONDAY MORNING
09.30 - 10.00: Opening Address
10.00 - 11.15: Invited Talk 1
Molecular Evolution and Optimization of Biopolymers
P. Schuster
11.15 - 13.00: Poster Presentations 1
1. THEORY AND EXTENSIONS OF EVOLUTIONARY ALGORITHMS
1.1 Theory of Evolutionary Algorithms
1.1.1 Basic Theory
How Genetic Algorithms Really Work I: Mutation and Hillclimbing
H. Muehlenbein
Crowding and Preselection Revisited
S.W. Mahfoud
Ordering Genetic Algorithms and Deception
H. Kargupta, K. Deb and D.E. Goldberg
Harmonic Analysis, Epistasis and Genetic Algorithms
M. Manela and J. Campbell
A Local Search Template
R.J.M. Vaessens, E.H.L. Aarts, J.K. Lenstra
1.1.2 Interactions between Operators
The Interplay Among the Genetic Algorithm Operators: Information
Theory Tools Used in a Holistic Way
Y. Davidor and O. Ben-Kiki
Dynamics of Diversity in an Evolving Population
M.A. Bedau, F. Ronneburg and M. Zwick
On Correlated Mutations in Evolution Strategies
G. Rudolph
Investigation of the M-Heuristic for Optimal Mutation
Probabilities
J. Hesser and R. Maenner
1.2 Extensions of Evolutionary Algorithms
1.2.1 Genetic Algorithms
Biomimetic Use of Genetic Algorithms
J.L. Dessalles
Genetic Algorithms for Changing Environments
J. Grefenstette
Nonstationary Function Optimization using
theStructured Genetic Algorithm
D. Dasgupta and D.R. McGregor
Hierarchically Structured Distributed Genetic Algorithms
H.-M. Voigt, I. Santibanez-Koref and J. Born
BUGS: A Bug-Based Search Strategy using Genetic Algorithms
H. Iba, S. Akiba, T. Higuchi and T. Sato
1.2.2 Evolution Strategies
Alternative Evolution Strategies to Global Optimization
J. Born, H.-M. Voigt and I. Santibanez-Koref
An Evolution Strategy with Momentum Adaptation
of the Random Number Distribution
A. Ostermeier
Reproductive Isolation as Strategy Parameter in Hierarichally
Organized Evolution Strategies
M. Herdy
1.2.3 Representations and Operators
Genetic Operators, the Fitness Landscape and
the Traveling Salesman Problem
K. Mathias and D. Whitley
Exploiting Constraints as Background Knowledge for
Genetic Algorithms: A Case-Study for Scheduling
J. Paredis
Towards Solving Subset Selection Problems with the Aid of the
Genetic Algorithm
C.B. Lucasius and G. Kateman
A Genetic Algorithm Application in Nonparametric Functional
Estimation
C.Z. Janikow and H. Cai
Non-Linear Genetic Representations
N.J. Radcliffe
The SAGA Cross: The Mechanics of Recombination for Species with
Variable-Length Genotypes
I. Harvey
13.00 - 14.30: Dinner
MONDAY AFTERNOON
14.30 - 16.00: Oral Presentations 1
Are Genetic Algorithms Function Optimizers?
K.A. De Jong
BioComputational Sources for Parallel Problem Solving
from Nature-Models
R.C. Paton
16.00 - 17.30: Poster Presentations 1 (cont'd)
17.30: Panel Discussion: The current state and future of
evolutionary algorithms
with panel members from
Europe, Japan and the United States
THUESDAY MORNING
08.30 - 09.45: Invited Talk 2
Evolutionary Search Including Developmental Strategies
W. Ebeling
09.45 - 11.30: Poster Presentations 2
2. APPLICATIONS OF EVOLUTIONARY ALGORITHMS
2.1 Optimization Problems
A Genetic Algorithm Applicable to Large-Scale Job-Shop Problems
T. Yamada and R. Nakano
Application of Genetic Algorithms to Task Planning and Learning
W. Jakob, M. Gorges-Schleuter and C. Blume
A Genetic Algorithm for Parallel Simulated Annealing
S.W. Mahfoud and D.E. Goldberg
Adaptive Search Strategy for Genetic Algorithms
with Additional Genetic Algorithms
Y. Kakazu, H. Sakanashi and K. Suzuki
Integrating Genetic Algorithms with a Prolog Assignment Program
as a Hybrid Solution for a Polytechnic Timetable Problem
Si-Eng Ling
2.2 Computer Science and Engineering
Load Balancing with Genetic Algorithms
R. Van Driessche and R. Piessens
On the Self-Organisation of Pseudo-Randomness
G. Fuellen
Some Aspects of the `Evolution Strategiy' for Solving TSP-Like
Optimization Problems Appearing at the Design Studies of a
0.5 TeV e+e--Linear Collider
H.-G. Beyer
Optimising PWR Reload Core Designs
P.W. Poon and G.T. Parks
Optimal Control System Synthesis with Genetic Algorithms
K.J. Hunt
2.3 Chemistry and Biology
Genetic Algorithms for Protein Tertiary Structure Prediction
S. Schulze-Kremer
Recursive Ensemble Mutagenesis: A Combinatorial Optimization
Technique for Protein Engineering
D.C. Youvan, A.P. Arkin and M.M. Yang
Determination of Chemical Equilibria by means of an
Evolution Strategy
P. Roosen and F. Meyer
2.4 Neural Nets
Adaptation of Kohonen Feature Map Topologies by Genetic Algorithms
D. Polani and T. Uthmann
Utilization of Stochastic Automata and Genetic Algorithms for
Neural Network Learning
N. Baba
Recombination Operators for the Design of Neural Nets
by Genetic Algorithm
P.J.B. Hancock
Optimizing Self-Organizing Control Architectures with
Genetic Algorithms: The Interaction Between Natural Selection
and Ontogenesis
N. Almassy and P. Verschure
11.30 - 13.00: Oral Presentations 2
Massive Multimodality, Deception, and Genetic Algorithms
D.E. Goldberg, K. Deb and J. Horn
Dataflow Parallelism in Genetic Algorithms
V.S. Gordon, D. Whitley and A.P.W. Boehm
13.00 - 14.30: Dinner
THUESDAY AFTERNOON
14.30 - 16.00: Oral Presentations 3
Structure Evolution and Incomplete Induction
R. Lohmann
An Experimental Perspective on Genetic Programming
U.-M. O`Reilly and F. Oppacher
16.00 - 18.00: Poster Presentations 2 (cont'd)
WEDNESDAY MORNING
08.30 - 9.45: Invited Talk 3
Nonlinear Dynamics, Information Theory and the Symbolic
Description of Complex Systems
G. Nicolis
09.45 - 11.30: Poster Presentations 3
3. OTHER BIOLOGICAL METAPHORS/PARALLEL IMPLEMENTATIONS
3.1 OTHER BIOLOGICAL METHAPHORS
The Optimization of a Class of Functionals Based
on Developmental Strategies
W. Ebeling
In Search of a Good Evolution-Optimization Crossover
H. Bersini and G. Seront
Differentiable Chromosomes: The Genetic Programming
of Switchable Shape-Genes
H. de Garis, H. Iba and T. Furuya
An Approach to Autonomic Spatial Nesting Problem
by Vibrating Potential Method
H. Yokoi and Y. Kakazu
An Investigation of some Properties of an ``Ant Algorithm"
A. Colorni, M. Dorigo and V. Maniezzo
3.2 PARALLEL IMPLEMENTATIONS
Parallel Local Search and the Travelling Salesman Problem
M.G.A. Verhoeven, E.H.L. Aarts, E. van Sluis and
R.J.M. Vaessens
Comparison of Local Mating Strategies in
Massively Parallel Genetic Algorithms
M. Gorges-Schleuter
An Asynchronous Fine-Grained Parallel Genetic Algorithm
T. Maruyama, A. Konagaya and K. Konishi
A Parallelled Genetic Algorithm based on a Neighborhood Model and
Its Application to Jobshop Scheduling
H. Tamaki and Y. Nishikawa
Putting Artificial Life to Work
K. Thearling
Mapping by migrating Boltzmann Machine
F. Seredynski
A Silicon VLSI Optical Sensor Based on Mammalian Vision
W.O. Camp Jr., J. Van der Spiegel and Min Xiao
11.30 - 13.00: Oral Presentations 4
Hyperplane Annealing and Activator-Inhibitor-Systems
T. Laussermair
The Interaction of Mutation Rate, Selection, and Self-Adaptation
Within a Genetic Algorithm
T. Baeck
13.00 - 14.30: Dinner
14.30 - 15.00: Closing Session
15.00: Business Meeting
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 20 Jul 92 09:53:02 -0400
From: "Mark W. Tilden" <mwtilden@math.waterloo.edu>
Announcing:
The Second BEAM Robot Olympics and Micromouse Competition:
Ontario Science Centre,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Apr 22 - 25, 1993
Sponsored by:
IEEE Canada, VSPANS Robotics, and the University of Waterloo.
The BEAM Robot Olympics is not so much a series of technological
competitions as a chance for robot enthusiasts to present their
designs to each other, the press, and the public. It is also
an open forum for anyone who wants to get started in the field to
compete and compare. Any and every robot will be considered so
long as it does not come exclusively from a kit or store. Robots
of similar ability will be pitted against each other in simple
competitions, but generally robots will be judged on sophistica-
tion of behavior, novelty of design, efficiency of power source,
and quality of hardware innovation.
Basically, if you built it, we'd like to see it.
The BEAM Olympics main events are (but not limited to) the fol-
lowing:
SOLAROLLER: A self-starting robot dragster race.
PHOTOVORE: Robots face a closed "world" and each other.
HIGH JUMP:Robot creature leaps, lands on feet.
ROPE CLIMBING: First up, first down, self-starting.
LEGGED RACE: Walking creatures run for the money.
INNOVATION MACHINES: Electronic chopsticks, for example.
ROBOART/MODIFICATION: Mechanical/electronic aesthetics that move.
ROBOT SUMO: Push/Bash an opponent out of a ring.
LIMBO RACE: How low can you build?
NANOMOUSE: A smaller and simpler form of the...
MICROMOUSE: Where metal mice race for aluminum cheese.
The Robot Olympics features a decathlon of formal competitions
which range in difficulty from simple to complex. To this end,
there is a guide available which contains competition rules,
"get-started" instructions, discussion into the new science of
Artificial Life (Alife), and full information for anybody who
might want to run their own BEAM Robotic Games.
Fresh copies of the Guide are available now at a cost of $10.00
Cdn, $15 American [US funds], and $20 international [US funds]
for cost of copying and postage. Please make cheques or money-
orders payable to BEAM Robotics Inc. Competitors are asked to
register and fill out a "behavior sheet" for their robot(s) and
more competitions will be run based on the variety of robots who
do show up. Those in a class by themselves are still eligible
for major awards, and everybody will be included in the subse-
quent BEAM Olympic portfolio, documentaries, and videos.
All venues are open to the interested, young or old, so grab your
soldering iron, raid the junk pile, and we'll see you there.
For more information on the BEAM Robot Olympics, other robotic
competitions, and weird robotics in general, contact:
BEAM Robot Olympics
c/o: Mark W. Tilden
MFCF, University of Waterloo
Ontario, Canada
N2L-3G1
(519)885-1211 x2454
E-mail: mwtilden@watmath.uwaterloo.ca
The rest of this article concentrates on general competitor
guidelines and the entrance form. If you want to be put on the
real-mail list, please complete and send in the entrance form by
real-mail. If possible, include a picture of your competitor.
Updates and further details will be posted to this and other
relevant newsgroups as they become available.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Rules and General Guidelines:
These are the rules and guidelines for the Second BEAM Robot
Olympic Games. Although the spirit of these Olympics stress few
formal restrictions, these are some guidelines which every com-
petitor should follow. If a design does not fit these parameters
or may but you're not sure, please contact the organizers for a
ruling. Consideration will be given to very innovative or ima-
ginative designs. The BEAM Olympics is meant as an informal
meeting of mind and robo-critter with the public and the media.
It is hoped that everyone will abide by this spirit.
All those wishing to compete should fill out and send in a regis-
tration form for all robotic competitor(s) before Monday, April
5, 1993 to be included in the show dossier. Entries will be
allowed after that, but they will not make that years dossier. A
copy of the registration form is included at the back of this
post. All who register will be put on a mailing list and kept
informed of upcoming events.
GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR ROBOTIC COMPETITORS:
- All robotic devices must be either entirely custom built or a
heavily modified toy. No commercial, store bought or kit robots
will be allowed without heavy physical modification (modified or
improved software is not sufficient modification). "Heavy"
defined as permanent structural/electronic additions which
extend, replace or enhance a functional aspect of the device (ie:
replace batteries with solar engine, add functional arms, inter-
face a unique touch/vision system, etc.). Any devices made from
commercial construction kits (ie: Lego, Mecanno, etc.) must also
feature obviously non-commercial, custom elements to indicate
sufficient intent of innovation.
- All robotic entries should be self-contained or have an option
where they can execute behavior without human intervention.
Tele-operated mechanisms are allowable only if it is obvious they
have been designed around some BEAM competition guidelines, or
are for some autonomous task-oriented purpose (ie: tele-operated
moon rover with retrieval claw). Commercial radio controlled kit
models will not be allowed unless they have undergone severe
technical modifications. Devices which do not feature some auto-
nomous ability are allowed, but will loose critical style points.
- Any robotic entry may be disqualified if too large (ie: bigger
than a standard upright refrigerator). The sole reason for this
is that display space, access doors, and power are limited.
Exceptions may be granted for exceptional, self-powered entries.
Please contact the organizers for a ruling.
- Any robotic competitor which is obviously of mass-produced,
commercial manufacture and/or performs an obviously commercial
task shall be disqualified as a competitor. We don't want this
to be a blatant advertising opportunity for major corporations,
that's what trade shows are for. Corporate research and design
prototypes are the exception but they must be represented by
their designer at the competition, not by the corporation. How-
ever, robotics companies are allowed to hand out cards, flyers,
posters, and device specifications.
- If a robotic entry must use wall current, it can use only one
plug at a nominal amperage (120 VAC, 3 Amps maximum drain). Any
robot which uses a combustion process will be discouraged for
safety reasons, and will not be allowed to run inside the com-
petition auditorium.
- For the most part, no "violent" robotic competitors will be
allowed; that is, no competitor may have a functionally destruc-
tive capacity (ie: drills, cutters, soldering iron, flame-
thrower, chainsaw, etc.) although decorative or whimsical ele-
ments along this line are allowed (ie: waterpistols). Likewise,
any robotic competitor which may damage the competition courses,
other robot competitors, organizers or audience will be disquali-
fied. Robotic competitors may interfere with each other during
the course of simultaneous runs (where rules permit) so long as
they do not violate the "no damage" rule. Anybody who justly
feels his/her device could be damaged by another entrant will not
suffer penalties for not competing in that trail. Likewise,
entrants who accept that their designs could suffer major damage
will also be respected (ie: No-holds-barred Robosumo). BEAM
Robotics and affiliates take no responsibility for damage
incurred by or afflicted on robotic devices, persons, or reputa-
tions during the course of competition.
- No robotic competitors can employ biological components (rats,
chickens, lemon/potato batteries, jello, etc.) except by special
permission from the organizers. Even then, no devices will be
allowed which harm biologics in any way.
- Multitalented robotic competitors are encouraged, however such
capabilities must be declared ahead of time on the registration
form as part of the robot's behavior description.
- Partially finished robotic competitors are allowed (even
encouraged) to compete so long as there is some function they can
exhibit to show what they may eventually be capable of.
Again, if you are in doubt as to the validity of your entry,
please contact the organizers directly at the University of
Waterloo. Exceptions will be made for particularly imaginative
entries.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The 1993 BEAM Robot Olympics REGISTRATION FORM:
This form must be signed and returned by all members who wish to
attend the show. All robot competitors must have a separate
registration form. A clear color or black and white photo-
graph (ideally 4"x6") of each competitor is politely requested
for the Olympic Dossier. All photos become the property of
the Olympics organizers and cannot be returned. All who
register will be put on a mailing list and kept abreast of
upcoming events.
The registration fee is $40 per attending entrant per team ($20
per student entrant with proof). Any team may enter as many
robots as they wish. The fee must be paid by cheque or cash on
or before the day of competition. Please make out all cheques to
the BEAM Robot Olympics. If you do not register in advance, you
can register on the day of competition (up to noon of Sat, April
24, 1993), however, you must pay the registration fee to compete
even if you do not attend the entire conference.
Any prizes awarded must be accepted as given. No cash substi-
tutes, exchanges, or device warrentys will be honored by the
Olympic organizers.
Good luck and hope to see you there.
TEAM MEMBER DETAILS:
Team Name (if applicable): _______________________________________
Name ___________________________________________________ Age _____
Address: Street/apt/town _________________________________________
Country/Zipcode _________________________________________
Name ___________________________________________________ Age _____
Address: Street/apt/town _________________________________________
Country/Zipcode _________________________________________
Name ___________________________________________________ Age _____
Address: Street/apt/town _________________________________________
Country/Zipcode _________________________________________
Institute Name (if any): _________________________________________
If you are active on Internet, please enclose your electronic mailing
address:
Internet E-mail Address: _________________________________________
Robot Details:
Name ___________________________________________________ Age _____
Behavior (please use point form):_________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Please check which BEAM event your entrant may qualify for:
___ SOLAROLLER
___ PHOTOVORE
___ HIGH JUMP
___ ROPE CLIMBING
___ LEGGED RACE
___ INNOVATION MACHINES
___ ROBOART
___ BEST MODIFIED TOY
___ ROBOT SUMO
___ NANOMICE
___ MICROMOUSE
If none of the above, please state what skill best describes your
device:
__________________________________________________________________
Do you wish to give a lecture on your device or some related aspect?
yes ____
no ____
If yes, please describe your topic in two sentences:
(For example:
Topic: Waterpistol Warfare:
A general discussion on the science of attack
waterpistols for carnage and general irritation.
Design and construction principles will be discussed
detailing how major design problems were overcome.
Speakers: Mark Tilden.)
Topic: _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Speakers: ______________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
What extra equipment will you need?
TV ___
Overhead Projector ___
VHS VCR ___
Slide Projector ___
Other _____________________________
I/We hereby declare that I/We will not hold IEEE Canada, BEAM Robotics,
The University of Waterloo, any sponsor, or the Ontario Science Centre
responsible for any loss, damage or injury that may occur while in
attendance at the 1993 BEAM Robot Olympics and Micromouse Competition.
I/We have read the BEAM Olympics Guidelines, have understood them and
will comply to the restrictions stated therein.
Signature: Team leader ______________________________________________
Team Members ______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
------------------------------
End of ALife Digest
*******************
