Authors:

 Mignonneau , Laurent; Sommerer, Christa.

Title:

 Life Spacies: a genetic text-to-form editor on the internet

Keywords:

Abstract:

 We are working to create interactive computer installations that integrate artificial life and real life by means of human-computer interaction. While exploring real-time interaction and evolutionary image processes, visitors to our interactive installations become essential parts of the systems by transmitting their individual
behaviors to the work's image processing. Images in these installations are no longer static, prefixed and predictable but "life-like systems" themselves, representing minute changes in the viewer's interactions with the evolutionary image processes. Based on the principles of open-ended design, we have developed an interactive computer installation called "Life Spacies." "Life Spacies" was produced
for the ICC InterCommunication Museum in Tokyo as part of its permanent collection [1]. It is an interaction and communication environment where remotely located visitors on the internet (i.e., global environment) and the on-site visitors to the installation at the ICC Museum in Tokyo (i.e., local environment) can interact with each
other through artificial creatures. The "Life Spacies" web page allows people throughout the world to interact with the system. By simply typing and sending an email message to the "LifeSpacies" web site (http://www.ntticc.or.jp/~lifespacies), one can create one's own
artificial creature and then receive a picture and a curriculum vitae of this creature in return. We developed a special text-to-form editor that enables us to translate text into genetic code. The characters, syntax and sequencing of the text is used to code specific parameters in the creature's design. Form, shape, color, texture and the number of limbs are influenced by the text's parameters. Our text-to-form editor is based on the idea of random seeding: a "word" is cut into several
functions, the ascii value (i.e., "87") of the first character (i.e., "w") of a word is set to refer to a random seed (i.e., "random seed is 87"), which ranges from a maximum to a minimum value, This random seed value is essential because it describes a number of functions that are performed for the remaining characters of the word (i.e.,"ord").These functions are responsible for modulatiing the creature's body: the
basic module is a ball, but this can be modified by the characters and sequencing of the text. Depending on the complexity of the text, the body of the creature becomes shaped and modulated. Limbs, colors and textures add to the variety within the creature's design. As there is great variation among the texts sent by different people, the creatures themselves also vary greatly in appearance, thus providing personal creatures for each author.

[1] C. Sommerer and L. Mignonneau, "Life Spacies," in ICC Concept Book,
(Tokyo: NTT-ICC, 1997) pp. 96 -101.
Mignonneau , Laurent; laurent@mic.atr.co.jp Sommerer, Christa. christa@mic.atr.co.jp http://www.mic.atr.co.jp/~christa ATR Media Integration and Communications Research Laboratories 2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, 61902 Kyoto, Japan IAMAS International Academy of Media Arts and Sciences Gifu Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau are Professors at the IAMAS International Academy of Media Arts and Sciences Gifu, Japan and Researchers and Artistic Directors at the ATR Media Integration and Communications Research Lab in Kyoto, Japan Since 1992 Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau have created interactive computer installations such as "Interactive Plant Growing" (1992/93),"Anthroposcope" (1993), "A-Volve" (1994), "Trans Plant" (1995), "Intro Act" (1995), "MIC Exploration Space" Sommerer and Mignonneau have won mayor international media awards for interactive art, for example the "Golden Nica" Ars Electronica Award for Interactive Art 1994 (Linz, Austria), the "Ovation Award" of the Interactive Media Festival 1995 (Los Angeles) Their works are permanently installed in media museums and media collections: "Interactive Plant Growing" at the ZKM Media Museum in Karlsruhe, Germany, "Life Spacies" at the NTT-ICC InterCommunication Center in Tokyo, Japan, "Trans Plant" at the Tokyo Me. In 1998 Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau edited and published a book on the convergence of art and science, called RArt @ ScienceS published by Springer Verlag Vienna/New York. More information about RArt @ ScienceS is available at: http://www.mic.atr.co.jp/~christa/BOOK/Book.html or at Amazon Bookstores: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/Author=Sommerer%2C%20Christa/8568-7696818