Picbreeder

Abstract

Picbreeder is an online service that allows users to collaboratively evolve images. Like in other Interactive Evolutionary Computation (IEC) programs, users evolve images in Picbreeder by selecting ones that appeal to them to produce a new generation. However, Picbreeder also offers an online community in which to share these images, and most importantly, the ability to continue evolving others' images. Through this process of branching from other images, and through continually increasing image complexity made possible by the NeuroEvolution of Augmenting Topologies (NEAT) algorithm, evolved images proliferate unlike in any other current IEC systems. Picbreeder enables all users, regardless of talent, to participate in a creative, exploratory process. This paper details how Picbreeder encourages innovation, featuring images that were collaboratively evolved.

Natural reward drives the advancement of life

“…A second example comes from a series of computer experiments, inspired by the "genetic art" introduced by Dawkins (1986Dawkins ( , 1989. In a series of preliminary investigations, Secretan et al (2008) encouraged humans to "breed" pictures on a website (www.picbreeder.com). Website visitors were given the option to hand off the fruits of their breeding programs to other website visitors, such that particular "evolutionary } } } Figure 5.…”

“…branches" might be encouraged to diversify and branch further (Secretan et al 2008(Secretan et al , p. 1763. If it were true that complexity in nature were produced by natural selection optimizing to final goals, then it would be expected that an optimization algorithm would discover the complex images faster than the human breeders.…”

TrackGen: An interactive track generator for TORCS and Speed-Dreams

“…Interactive evolution has been applied to a wide range of domains including the generation of HTML styles [27]; fashion design [28]; generation of facial composites [29]; semi-supervised learning [30]; voice quality conversion [31]; ergonomic design [32]; the generation of terrains and landscapes [33], synthetic images [34], music [35], and art in general. To the best of our knowledge, Galactic Arm Race [8] is the first application of interactive evolution for the generation of game content.…”

Examples galleries generated by interactive genetic algorithms

“…Finally, we debrief with the participants about the examples; in particular we focus the advantages, shortcomings and possible improvements of the approach and tool. At the end of the session, we present Picbreeder [34] as another creative support tool to feed in the discussion.…”