Name: Animate characters by evolving them
Uploaded: 2008-07-08T01:00:00Z
Duration: 18 min 6 s
Description: Torsten Reil talks about how the study of biology can help make natural-looking animated people -- by building a human from the inside out, with bones, muscles and a nervous system. He spoke at TED in 2003; see his work now in GTA4.

Torsten Reil: Animate characters by evolving them

Animate characters by evolving them

Torsten Reil talks about how the study of biology can help make natural-looking animated people -- by building a human from the inside out, with bones, muscles and a nervous system. He spoke at TED in 2003; see his work now in GTA4.

Animated characters in current games and films move in predictable, repetitive ways, lacking true interactivity. By simulating both the human body and its nervous system, digital characters can learn to walk, balance, and even react to explosions in real time. In one striking experiment, a stick figure taught itself to walk through evolutionary algorithms, failing hilariously at first but eventually striding upright. This technology is already being used for safer stunt work and is opening new possibilities for both entertainment and medical simulations.