Papers by Michał Joachimczak
Proceedings of the Artificial Life Conference 2016, 2016
Inspired by the self-organization of growing embryos and coordinated movement of multicellular as... more Inspired by the self-organization of growing embryos and coordinated movement of multicellular assemblies such as the slime mold Dictyostelium, where each cell is controlled by the same controller (a DNA-encoded gene regulatory network), we evolve distributed gait control mechanisms for soft-bodied animats. The animats are made of compressible material, with each body region capable of independent actuation, controlled by a cell at its center. Each animat consists of hundreds of cells uniformly distributed throughout the body, each sharing the same artificial gene regulatory network and aware of the state of their local neighborhood. We found that one of the most common actuation patterns that emerged relied on cells synchronizing their oscillations in order to produce a rotating, spiral wave spanning throughout the body. We found this type of mechanism to emerge for a wide range of animat morphologies as well as in very different types of initial conditions. We investigate how the evolved controllers produce the pattern through local feedbacks and evaluate spiral stability when imperfect, noisy cells are used.
07/20/2015-07/24/2015, 2015
We show how the concept of metamorphosis, together with a biologically inspired model of multicel... more We show how the concept of metamorphosis, together with a biologically inspired model of multicellular development can be used to evolve soft-bodied robots that are highly adapted to two radically different environments (e.g., aquatic and terrestrial). Each evolved solution defines two pairs of morphologies and controllers, together with a process of transforming one pair into the other. Animats develop from a single cell and through divisions and deaths reach their initial "larval" form adapted to the first environment. To obtain "adult" form adapted to the second environment, the larva undergoes metamorphosis during which new cells are added or removed and its controller is modified. Importantly, our approach assumes nothing about what morphologies or methods of locomotion are preferred. Instead, it successfully searches the vast space of possible designs and comes up with complex, lifelike solutions de novo. In this paper, we describe the approach we employ and present examples of metamorphic soft-robots. We compare two different approaches to evolving aquatic and terrestrial animats, investigate evolved motion strategies, the process of metamorphosis and its evolution.
Ewolucja chemotaksji organizmów jednokomórkowych w dwuwymiarowym środowisku
Zeszyty Naukowe Wydziału ETI Politechniki Gdańskiej. Technologie Informacyjne, 2011
Downsizing: The Effect of Mixed-Reality Person Representations on Stress and Presence in Telecommunication
2018 IEEE International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality (AIVR), 2018
We study how mixed-reality (MR) telepresence can enhance long-distance human interaction and how ... more We study how mixed-reality (MR) telepresence can enhance long-distance human interaction and how altering three-dimensional (3D) representations of a remote person can be used to modulate stress and anxiety during social interactions. To do so, we developed an MR telepresence system employing commodity depth sensors and Microsoft's Hololens. A textured, polygonal 3D model of a person was reconstructed in real time and transmitted over network for rendering in remote location using Hololens. In this pilot study, we used mock job interview paradigm to induce stress in human-subjects interacting with an interviewer presented as an MR hologram. Participants were exposed to three different types of real-time reconstructed virtual holograms of the interviewer, a natural-sized 3D reconstruction (NR), a miniature 3D reconstruction (SR) and a 2D-display representation (LCD). Participants reported their subjective experience through questionnaires, while their biophysical responses were recorded. We found that the size of 3D representation of a remote interviewer had a significant effect on participants' stress levels and their sense of presence. NR condition induced more stress and presence than SR condition and was significantly different from LCD condition.
Real-time mixed-reality telepresence via 3D reconstruction with HoloLens and commodity depth sensors
Proceedings of the 19th ACM International Conference on Multimodal Interaction, 2017
We present a demo of low-cost mixed reality telepresence system that performs real-time 3D recons... more We present a demo of low-cost mixed reality telepresence system that performs real-time 3D reconstruction of a person or an object and wirelessly transmits the reconstructions to Microsoft's HoloLens head mounted display at frame rates perceived as smooth. A reconstructed frame is represented as a polygonal mesh with polygons textured with high definition data obtained from RGB cameras. Each frame is compressed and sent to HoloLens, so that it can be locally rendered by its GPU, minimizing latency of reacting to head movement. Owing to HoloLens half-translucent displays, the system creates an appearance of remote object being part of user's physical environment. The system can run on a relatively low-cost commodity hardware, such as Kinect sensors and in the most basic scenario can produce smooth frame rates of a single multicore laptop.
Transactions of the Institute of Systems, Control and Information Engineers, 2006
Pleasure and Tensions * We present a novel method of machine learning toward autonomous developme... more Pleasure and Tensions * We present a novel method of machine learning toward autonomous developmental systems. The method is based on a growing neural network that initially produces senseless signals but later associates rewarding signals and quasi-rewarding signals with recent perceptions and motor activities and, based on these associations, incorporates new cells and creates new connections, which results in more structured output patterns. The rewarding signals are produced in a device called "pleasure center" , while the quasi-rewarding signals (that represent pleasure expectation) are generated by the network itself. The network was tested using a simulated mobile robot equipped with a pair of motors, a speaker, a set of touch sensors, and a camera. Despite a lack of innate wiring for any purposeful behavior, the robot developed from scratch, without any external guidance (except hardwired perception-pleasure patterns), a set of perception-reaction patterns. The emerging patterns include obstacle avoidance, vocalization of interest, and approaching an object of interest, which are fundamental for creatures and usually handcrafted in traditional robotic systems.
Creating 3D Personal Avatars with High Quality Facial Expressions for Telecommunication and Telepresence
2022 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW)
This study aims at providing a low-cost solution for telepresence where people are reconstructed ... more This study aims at providing a low-cost solution for telepresence where people are reconstructed as 3D avatars using an ordinary webeam, while still exhibiting abundant facial information (such as micro-expressions) that are critical for face-to-face communication. We estimate the basic 3D shape and texture of the body from a set of video frames, and then subsequently update its body pose, facial expression, and facial texture in each frame. Our method is expected to reduce the entry barrier of VR systems and create an embodied telecommunication that conveys rich information and subtle emotional changes to deepen mutual understanding at a distance.
We show how a biologically inspired model of multicellular development combined with a simulated ... more We show how a biologically inspired model of multicellular development combined with a simulated evolutionary process can be used to design the morpholo-gies and controllers of soft-bodied virtual animats. An animat’s morphology is the result of a developmental process that starts from a single cell and goes through many cell divisions, during which cells interact via simple physical rules. Every cell contains the same genome, which encodes a gene regulatory network (GRN) controlling its behavior. After the developmental stage, locomotion emerges from the coordinated activity of the GRNs across the virtual robot body. Since cells act autonomously, the behavior of the animat is generated in a truly decentralized fashion. The movement of the animat is produced by the contraction and expansion of parts of the body, caused by the cells, and is simulated using a physics engine. Our system makes possible the evolution and development of animats that can run, swim, and actively navigate to...
Evolution of the Morphology and Patterning of Artificial Embryos: Scaling the Tricolour Problem to the Third Dimension
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2011
We present a model of three-dimensional artificial embryogenesis in which a multicellular embryo ... more We present a model of three-dimensional artificial embryogenesis in which a multicellular embryo develops controlled by a continuous regulatory network encoded in a linear genome. Development takes place in a continuous space, with spherical cells of variable size, and is controlled by simulated physics. We apply a genetic algorithm to the problem of the simultaneous evolution of morphology and patterning
Artificial Life XII: Proceedings of the …, 2010
Computational properties of gene regulatory networks (GRNs) are of great interest in the field of... more Computational properties of gene regulatory networks (GRNs) are of great interest in the field of systems biology and, increasingly, in the field of artificial life. Understanding how GRNs work and evolve may help in elucidating the properties of real biological networks and in designing new biological networks for practical applications. Here we investigate the possibility to evolve artificial GRNs that can generate or process continuous signals represented by concentrations of artificial substances. We use a biologically-inspired model of regulatory networks. The way the nodes in the GRN (regulatory units) are connected and the weights of connections are encoded in a linear genome. A genetic algorithm is used to obtain GRNs that can solve problems with increasing difficulty. Some of these problems require performing simple mathematical operations and sustaining memory. We analyse if the solutions are general by presenting the GRNs with input patterns that were not used for fitness evaluation during evolution. We also briefly discuss the advantages of using biologically-inspired GRN-like systems for control problems and compare them with systems inspired by neural networks.
Evo-Devo In Silico: a Model of a Gene Network Regulating Multicellular Development In 3D Space With Artificial Physics
Artificial Life, 2008
Page 1. Evo-devo in silico: a Model of a Gene Network Regulating Multicellular Development in 3D ... more Page 1. Evo-devo in silico: a Model of a Gene Network Regulating Multicellular Development in 3D Space with Artificial Physics Michał Joachimczak, Borys Wróbel Computational Biology Group, Department of Genetics and ...
Complexity of the Search Space in a Model of Artificial Evolution of Gene Regulatory Networks Controlling 3D Multicellular Morphogenesis
Advances in Complex Systems, 2009
The question of what properties of biological systems allow for efficient evolutionary search in ... more The question of what properties of biological systems allow for efficient evolutionary search in complex fitness landscapes (evolvability) is one of the central interests both for the research in the field of evolutionary biology and artificial life. Here, we attempt to address this issue by using a model of 3D multicellular development in which cell fate is determined by differential gene expression in each cell. In our model, cells can vary in size and can move freely in 3D space, affected by forces of adhesion and repulsion. The development relies on an indirect mapping between the genotype and the morphology (the phenotype). Cell differentiation is allowed by positional information provided by diffusible factors. The state of the gene regulatory network (GRN) coded by the genome determines the cell fate (such as division, death, growth). The genetic elements in our systems define points in N-dimensional space. The connectivity in the GRN is determined by the proximity of these p...
Bringing drawings to life: evolving distributed controllers for hand-drawn soft-bodied robots
Evolving Driving Agent for Remote Control of Scaled Model of a Car
We present an approach for automatic design via genetic programming of the functionality of drivi... more We present an approach for automatic design via genetic programming of the functionality of driving agent, able to remotely operate a scale model of a car running in a fastest possible way. The agent’s actions are conveyed to the car via standard radio control transmitter. The agent perceives the environment from a live video feedback of an overhead camera. In order to cope with the inherent video feed latency we propose an approach of anticipatory modeling in which the agent considers its current actions based on anticipated intrinsic (rather than currently available, outdated) state of the car and its surrounding. The driving style of the agent is first evolved offline on a software simulator of the car and then adapted online to the real world. Experimental results demonstrate that on long runs the agent’s-operated car is only marginally (about 5%) slower than a human-operated one, while the consistence of lap times posted by the evolved driving agent is better than that of a hum...
Acs Complexity of the Search Space in a Model of Artificial Evolution of Gene Regulatory Networks Controlling 3-DIMENSIONAL Multicellular Morphogenesis
The question of what properties of biological systems allow f r efficient evolutionary search in ... more The question of what properties of biological systems allow f r efficient evolutionary search in complex fitness landscapes (evolvability) is one of the central interests both for the research in the field of evolutionary biology and artificial life. In this paper we at tempt to address this issue by using a model of 3-dimensional multicellular development in which cell f ate is determined by di fferential gene expression in each cell. In our model cells can vary in size and c an move freely in 3-dimensional space, affected by forces of adhesion and repulsion. The development r elies on an indirect mapping between the genotype and the morphology (the phenotype). Cell di fferentiation is allowed by positional information provided by di ffusible factors. The state of the gene regulatory network cod ed by the genome determines the cell fate (such as division, death, growth). T e genetic elements in our systems define points inN-dimensional space. The connectivity in the gene regulator ...
Effects of the Size of Mixed-Reality Person Representations on Stress and Presence in Telecommunication
International Journal of Semantic Computing
We study how mixed reality (MR) telepresence can enhance long-distance human interaction and how ... more We study how mixed reality (MR) telepresence can enhance long-distance human interaction and how altering 3D representations of a remote person can be used to modulate stress and anxiety during social interactions. To do so, we developed an MR telepresence system employing commodity depth sensors and Microsoft’s Hololens. A textured, polygonal 3D model of a person was reconstructed in real time and transmitted over network for rendering in remote location using HoloLens. In this study, we used mock job interview paradigm to induce stress in human–subjects interacting with an interviewer presented as an MR hologram. Participants were exposed to three different types of real-time reconstructed virtual holograms of the interviewer, a natural-sized 3D reconstruction (NR), a miniature 3D reconstruction (SR) and a 2D-display representation (LCD). Participants reported their subjective experience through questionnaires, while their biophysical responses were recorded. We found that the siz...
ALife approach to eco-evo-devo using evolution of virtual creatures
Artificial Life and Robotics, 2016
Artificial Metamorphosis: Evolutionary Design of Transforming, Soft-Bodied Robots
Artificial Life, 2016
We show how the concept of metamorphosis, together with a biologically inspired model of multicel... more We show how the concept of metamorphosis, together with a biologically inspired model of multicellular development, can be used to evolve soft-bodied robots that are adapted to two very different tasks, such as being able to move in an aquatic and in a terrestrial environment. Each evolved solution defines two pairs of morphologies and controllers, together with a process of transforming one pair into the other. Animats develop from a single cell and grow through cellular divisions and deaths until they reach an initial larval form adapted to a first environment. To obtain the adult form adapted to a second environment, the larva undergoes metamorphosis, during which new cells are added or removed and its controller is modified. Importantly, our approach assumes nothing about what morphologies or methods of locomotion are preferred. Instead, it successfully searches the vast space of possible designs and comes up with complex, surprising, lifelike solutions that are reminiscent of amphibian metamorphosis. We analyze obtained solutions and investigate whether the morphological changes during metamorphosis are indeed adaptive. We then compare the effectiveness of three different types of selective pressures used to evolve metamorphic individuals. Finally, we investigate potential advantages of using metamorphosis to automatically produce soft-bodied designs by comparing the performance of metamorphic individuals with their specialized counterparts and designs that are robust to both environments.
Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 2015
Novelty search is an evolutionary search algorithm based on the superficially contradictory idea ... more Novelty search is an evolutionary search algorithm based on the superficially contradictory idea that abandoning goal-focused fitness function altogether can lead to the discovery of higher fitness solutions. In the course of our work, we have created a biologically inspired artificial development system with the purpose of automatically designing complex morphologies and controllers of multicellular, soft-bodied robots. Our goal is to harness the creative potential of in silico evolution, so that it can provide us with novel and efficient designs that are free of any preconceived notions a human designer would have. In order to do so, we strive to allow for the evolution of arbitrary morphologies. Using a fitness-driven search algorithm, the system has been shown to be capable of evolving complex multicellular solutions consisting of hundreds of cells that can walk, run, and swim; yet, the large space of possible designs makes the search expensive and prone to getting stuck in local minima. In this work, we investigate how a developmental approach to the evolution of robotic designs benefits from abandoning objective fitness function. We discover that novelty search produced significantly better performing solutions. We then discuss the key factors of the success in terms of the phenotypic representation for the novelty search, the deceptive landscape for co-designing morphology/brain, and the complex development-based phenotypic encoding.
We present an approach for automatic design via genetic programming of the functionality of drivi... more We present an approach for automatic design via genetic programming of the functionality of driving agent, able to remotely operate a scale model of a car running in a fastest possible way. The agent's actions are conveyed to the car via standard radio control transmitter. The agent perceives the environment from a live video feedback of an overhead camera. In order to cope with the inherent video feed latency we propose an approach of anticipatory modeling in which the agent considers its current actions based on anticipated intrinsic (rather than currently available, outdated) state of the car and its surrounding. The driving style of the agent is first evolved offline on a software simulator of the car and then adapted online to the real world. Experimental results demonstrate that on long runs the agent's-operated car is only marginally (about 5%) slower than a human-operated one, while the consistence of lap times posted by the evolved driving agent is better than that of a human. Presented work can be viewed as a step towards the development of a framework for automated design of the controllers of remotely operated vehicles capable to find an optimal solution to various tasks in different traffic situations and road conditions.
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Papers by Michał Joachimczak