C2.10 Interactive Evolution

We present a diierent approach to directing the evolutionary process through interactive selection of solutions by the human user. First the general context of Interactive Evolution (IE) is set, then the standard IE algorithm is discussed together with more complicated variants. Finally, several application areas are discussed and uses for the new method are exempliied using design from the literature. The basic idea of Interactive Evolution (IE) is to involve a human user on-line into the variation| selection loop of the evolutionary algorithm. This is to be seen in contrast to the conventional participation of the user prior to running the EA by deening a suitable representation of the problem, C1 the tness criterion for evaluation of individual solutions and corresponding operators to improve B2.1 C3 tness quality. In the latter case, the user's role is restricted to passive observation during the EA run. The minimumrequirement for interactive evolution is the deenition of a problem representation, together with a determination of population parameters only. Search operators of arbitrary kind as E1 C3 well as selection according to arbitrary criteria might be applied to the representation by the user. C2 The process is much more comparable to the creation of a piece of art, e.g. a painting, than to the automatic evolution of an optimized problem solution. In IE, the user assumes an active role in the search process. At the minimum level, the IE system must hold present solutions together with variants presently generated or considered. Usually, however, automatic means of variation, i.e. evolutionary search operators using random events, are provided with an IE system. In the present context we shall require the existence of automatic means of variation by operators for mutation and recombination of solutions which are C3.2 C3.3 to be deened prior to running the EA. C2.10.2 History and prospects Dawkins (1986) was the rst to consider an elaborate IE system. The evolution of biomorphs, as he called them, by IE in a system which he had originally intended to be useful for the design of tree-like graphical forms has served as a prototype for many systems developed later on. Starting with the contributions of Sims (1991) and the book of Todd and Latham (1992), computer art developed into the present major application area of IE. F1 Later, interactive evolution of grammar-based structures has been considered (Nguyen et al. 1994 and McCormack 1994). Raw image data have …