Golem-related

[Doug Millison]

The Golem Project [Windows 95/98/NT]
http://golem03.cs-i.brandeis.edu/index.html

 From engineers at Brandeis University comes this wild world of
evolutionary robotics. Golem ("Genetically Organized Lifelike Electro
Mechanics"), named for the Jewish legend of the golem, is a project
involving electro-mechanical objects that build themselves according
to basic principles of evolution. In the words of the investigators:
"In the Golem project we conducted a set of experiments in which
simple electro-mechanical systems evolved from scratch to yield
physical locomoting machines. Like biological lifeforms whose
structure and function exploit the behaviors afforded by their own
chemical and mechanical medium, our evolved creatures take advantage
of the nature of their own medium - thermoplastic, motors, and
artificial neurons." Visitors to the Golem Project site can read
about the project's inspiration, the design and construction of the
robots, and some preliminary results and conclusions. An explanation
of the physics behind the simulation of mechanics and neural control
of a machine is given also, with formulae and graphics. A
particularly interesting feature of the site is the downloadable
program (available as a screensaver, Golem 2.42, or as a stand-alone
program, Live Truss 1.2) that simulates the Golem project by evolving
bodies and brains of electromechanical robots, and animating some on
the screen (Win95/98/NT, 740K). The animated bodies created by the
program can leave your computer and migrate to other computers that
have the program (see the site for logistical and copyright details).

The Scout Report for Science & Engineering
September 13, 2000
  Volume 4, Number 2
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