Artificial life models in software

This book presents software tools, environments and realities dealing with creation, imitation and analysis of artefactual, virtual, and living forms, written by those who personally design and produce software, hardware, and art installations in artificial life, simulated complex systems, and virtual worlds. This timely volume offers a nearly exhaustive overview and original analysis of major non-profit artificial life software packages. Topics include: simulation of real and imaginary life forms and their evolution, self-organization, emergent behaviours, swarm intelligence, evolutionary robotics, agent-based simulations, adaptive, complex and biologically inspired ecosystems, creative computer art.

Part 1: Virtual Living Worlds.- Avida: Evolution Experiments with Self-Replicating Computer Programs.- Framsticks: A Platform for Modelling, Simulating and Evolving 3D Creatures.- Nerve Garden: Germinating Biological Metaphors in Net-based Virtual Worlds.- GenePool: Exploring the Interaction Between Natural Selection and Sexual Selection.- Sodarace: Adventures in Artificial Life.- Part 2: Collective Artificial Life.- Escaping the Accidents of History: An Overview of Artificial Life Modeling with Repast.- EINSTein: A Multiagent-based Model of Combat.- StarLogo : A Programmable Complex Systems Modeling Environment for Students and Teachers.- On the Evolution of Sonic Ecosystems.- Part 3: Magic of Discrete Worlds.- Exploring Cellular Automata with MCell.- Discrete Dynamics Lab: Tools for Investigating Cellular Automata and Discrete Dynamical Networks.- Part 4: Artificial Life Arts.- Simulated Breeding – a Framework of Breeding Artifacts on the Computer.- Enriching Aesthetics with Artificial Life.- Appendix: Artificial Life Software.

Academics, researchers and graduates in Computer Science, Computational Biology, AI and Biophysics, professionals in Information Systems, Virtual Reality and Computer Gaming.