Evolutionary co-operative design between human and computer: implementation of 'the genetic sculpture park'

The Genetic Sculpture Park seeks to blur the distinction between artist and observer and to empower the novice in the creation of complex computer graphic models. Each visitor to the park experiences a unique set of forms and engages in a co-operative dialogue with the computer to produce more aesthetically pleasing designs. Inspired by Darwin's Theory of Evolution, Genetic Algorithms are used to allow visitors to 'breed' forms tailored to his or her own individual sense of aesthetics. This paper recounts investigations into evolutionary design methodologies ('3D Head Models') and describes their implementation in an interactive Java/VRML world.