Proposal for Final project

My Simulation Project with NeuroEvolution

Description

After talking with Dan, I decided to work on neuro-evolution based on my midterm project. Link to Previous Code

My goal in this sketch:

• Use neuro-evolution for the bugs to learn to get food.
• The Bugs would stop moving and fade away if they don’t get to the food.

My objective is to be able to understand and apply some basic concepts of neuro-evolution.

Collect Inspirations

The idea of fading away if they don’t get food, I got from Jer Thorp’s original Smart Rockets. In this program, the Rockets explode after failing to get to the target.

Although not sure if I would be able to add another behavior to my code, this series of Primer videos have inspired me during the semester. One of the videos that amazed me was the series of simulations from Primer, but especially the Simulating Natural Selection and Your genes are selfish. But are you? videos.

Ideally, I would like to add other actions such a replication and living longer if it eats, but that has to be for another sketch where I have more time to explore how to simulate it.

For my neuro-evolution algorithm, I would be following the tutorial and class material by Daniel Shiffman, including the Neuro-Evolution Flappy Bird Coding Challenge.

Process

1. Follow the tutorial made in the last class.
2. Follow Neuro-Evolution Flappy Bird Coding Challenge
3. Incorporate into the simulation project.
4. Add a lifetime to each creature.
5. Documentation

Note: Process supplemented by reading materials

Context? Who’s it for?
What compelled me from this class is the possibility of simulating natural behaviors. In the midterm project, my goal was to simulate natural movement. However, with this second part of the semester, I can explore the evolution of behavior. I would like to gain more understanding of the process of machine learning.

Questions

1. How to make this idea feel complete?
2. Do you have any other recommendations, tutorials or inspirations that can I search for?
3. Can this be an interactive project? If “yes”, How?
4. Thinking conceptually:
   How this could be a story?
   How this concept could evolve?