My Creature Behaviour Simulator

This simulation, and its associated paper, were produced by me for my final year project.

This project involves investigation into Artificial Life, and in particular the study of how complex creature behaviours can be simulated.
This includes investigation into how creatures behave, survive, and evolve together.
The prototype graphical simulation system has been developed to support and demonstrate different aspects of creature behaviour.

The requirements of the simulation to support such research activity are:

• This simulation should be able to show visually how behaviour can evolve.
• It will allow for the testing of different theories of creature behaviour, and should enable experimentation by user definition of the creature attributes.

The system focuses on Predator-Prey behaviour, and other behaviours such as mating and flocking.

The first aim of this prototype is to simulate an environment in which two different species of creatures that both exhibit realistic natural behaviours can be placed. All the creatures will have rules that will apply to them as individuals (i.e. local rules), and each of the species will attempt to survive and prosper. The species will be carnivorous (the predators), omnivorous, or herbivorous (the prey).

The resultant objective of this simulation system is to show emergent and complex global behaviour. This complex global behaviour will emerge from the interactions of moderately simple local rules.

In order to achieve this complexity, the system should not become stable (both populations staying the same size for example), and it should not be so unstable that one or both of the species die out quickly. The simulator should be able to demonstrate an environment in which both populations are continually changing over time.

It should hopefully be able to demonstrate the Lotka-Volterra model of predator-prey oscillations.

In order to provide sufficient opportunity for complexity, creature movement, mating, and other creature behaviours are areas that need to be looked at, and implemented to some extent in the prototype.

Here is a picture of the simulator in action

Here is an example graph of the type of results I have been able to achieve.

		If you have any comments or problems, please email me
		Windows executable : The Java application (v.1.45).
		This version will run under Windows 95/NT (It should run under Windows 98,but has not been tested). The application has been compiled as a platform specific executable (in order toimprove its performace). It therefore requires Symantec Runtime DLLs to be on your system. I have included these DLLs below.
		DLLs (1) : The DLLs needed to run the application. DLLs (2) : More DLLs needed. The DLLs need to be unzipped to your windows\system directory (or to the same directory as the simulator exe).
		Platform Independant version : The Java application (v.1.45).
		These are the compiled class files, which require a java runtime environment to be installed on your system. You also need the following file to be unzipped into your classpath (refer to enclosed readme file for more information) symbeans.zip
		Source : The Java source code (Fully commented).
		I have made this code available as it may be of use or interest. You are free to use parts of my code in your own programs if you wish. NOTE: The source code will only compile into a windows executable using Symantec Visual Cafe PDE 2. However, the java files will all compile into class files using the standard Sun Java compiler (v1.1.3 or above). You also need the symbeans.zip
		Paper : My paper on creature behaviour.
		An investigation of Creature Behaviour, and how to design and implement an Artificial Life Simulator. Written as part of my Final Year Degree Project at Sheffield Hallam University.

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