This unit will introduce Artificial Life (A-Life) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques that can be used in the production of virtual environments. It also addresses the general capabilities of A-Life and AI technology, behaviours/circumstances that need to be simulated, learned or reproduced by virtual agents or characters and environments in virtual worlds. Techniques such as evolutionary computation and neural networks used in the development of intelligent, life-like agents in games and virtual worlds will be discussed in detail. This unit will build upon previous programming skills, and provide a strong grounding for further study in this area. The unit employs the fundamentals of C++ programming within a UNIX environment.
Minimum total expected workload equals 12 hours per week comprising:
(a.) Contact hours for on-campus students:
(b.) Additional requirements (all students):
See also Unit timetable information
Alan Dorin
Consultation hours: 4-5pm, Wednesday. During labs, lectures or by email, please let me know you would like to meet.
Alan Dorin
Zoe Bukovac
Monash is committed to excellence in education and regularly seeks feedback from students, employers and staff. One of the key formal ways students have to provide feedback is through the Student Evaluation of Teaching and Units (SETU) survey. The University’s student evaluation policy requires that every unit is evaluated each year. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the surveys. The feedback is anonymous and provides the Faculty with evidence of aspects that students are satisfied and areas for improvement.
For more information on Monash’s educational strategy, see:
www.monash.edu.au/about/monash-directions/ and on student evaluations, see: www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/quality/student-evaluation-policy.html
Previous feedback has highlighted that the unit's assignments are considered to be exciting and engaging for students.
Previous feedback has also indicated that vector arithmetic is now being covered in other units within the degree and the amount of time dedicated to this aspect of the FIT3094 unit can be reduced. The material on using vector arithmetic for steering behaviour will remain a component of the course but a knowledge of the fundamentals of vectors will be assumed.
If you wish to view how previous students rated this unit, please go to
https://emuapps.monash.edu.au/unitevaluations/index.jsp
| Week | Activities | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Download lecture notes and scan them. Begin Tutorial 0 (Unix familiarity) | No formal assessment or activities are undertaken in week 0 |
| 1 | Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Artificial Life (AL) | |
| 2 | A History of AI and AL in Games | |
| 3 | Basic Search Algorithms, their significance for AI and AL | |
| 4 | The Interactive Game Loop, Finite State Machines and Agent Decisions | |
| 5 | Steering Behaviour & Cooperative strategies for agent behaviour 1 | |
| 6 | Cooperative strategies for agent behaviour 2 & Generative landscapes and cityscapes | Assignment 1 due Week 6, 15 April 2015, 6pm. Demonstrations in lab session |
| 7 | Mid-semester revision and assignment discussion | |
| 8 | Growing plants and forests intelligently and realistically | |
| 9 | Artificial Evolution | |
| 10 | Virtual Ecosystems | |
| 11 | Advanced Search Algorithms: A* Search | |
| 12 | Neural Networks | Assignment 2 due Week 12, 27 May 2015, 6pm. Demonstrations in lab session |
| SWOT VAC | No formal assessment is undertaken in SWOT VAC | |
| Examination period | LINK to Assessment Policy: http://policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/ academic/education/assessment/ assessment-in-coursework-policy.html |
*Unit Schedule details will be maintained and communicated to you via your learning system.
Examination (2 hours): 60%; In-semester assessment: 40%
| Assessment Task | Value | Due Date |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment 1 - Non-Player Character Game Controller | 20% | Week 6, 15 April 2015, 6pm. Demonstrations in lab session |
| Assignment 2 - Evolving Flowers | 20% | Week 12, 27 May 2015, 6pm. Demonstrations in lab session |
| Examination 1 | 60% | To be advised |
Faculty Policy - Unit Assessment Hurdles (http://intranet.monash.edu.au/infotech/resources/staff/edgov/policies/assessment-examinations/assessment-hurdles.html)
Academic Integrity - Please see resources and tutorials at http://www.monash.edu/library/skills/resources/tutorials/academic-integrity/
Demonstrations and explanation of code submissions for Assignments 1 & 2 must be made by each student, in person. These occur in the lab sessions immediately before each assignment deadline. Failure to present these demonstrations results in a grade of 0N for the relevant assignment.
You will be assessed on how efficiently you write the software and on how well your controller plays the game including how frequently it hits and sinks other ships, how much gold it collects and how infrequently it is hit itself.
Please consult the detailed online document that will be provided for further info.
You will be assessed on how efficiently you write the software to implement the evolutionary algorithm, and on how well your algorithm generates floral patterns through processes of cross-over and mutation.
Please consult the detailed online document that will be provided for further info.
Electronic access to a prescribed text (interactive e-book) written by the lecturer will be required. This is available for use on iPad/iPad-mini, Apple Macintosh computers running the OS X "Mavericks" operating system, online, and via PDF.
Recommended reading lists will appear each week with the lecture notes.
Video materials covering some background aspects of the course will also be available.
Monash Library Unit Reading List (if applicable to the unit)
http://readinglists.lib.monash.edu/index.html
Types of feedback you can expect to receive in this unit are:
Submission must be made by the due date otherwise penalties will be enforced.
You must negotiate any extensions formally with your campus unit leader via the in-semester special consideration process: http://www.monash.edu.au/exams/special-consideration.html
Assignments may not be resubmitted.
It is a University requirement (http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/conduct/student-academic-integrity-managing-plagiarism-collusion-procedures.html) for students to submit an assignment coversheet for each assessment item. Faculty Assignment coversheets can be found at http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/forms/. Please check with your Lecturer on the submission method for your assignment coversheet (e.g. attach a file to the online assignment submission, hand-in a hard copy, or use an electronic submission). Please note that it is your responsibility to retain copies of your assessments.
If Electronic Submission has been approved for your unit, please submit your work via the learning system for this unit, which you can access via links in the my.monash portal.
Please check with your lecturer before purchasing any Required Resources. Limited copies of prescribed texts are available for you to borrow in the library, and prescribed software is available in student labs.
On-campus students may use the software which is installed in the computing labs. Information about computer use for students is available from the ITS Student Resource Guide in the Monash University Handbook.
You will need access to:
Limited copies of prescribed texts are available for you to borrow in the library.
Alan Dorin. (2014). Biological Bits: A brief guide to the ideas and artefacts of computational Artificial Life. (1st Edition) Animaland (ISBN: 978-0-646-91871-6).
Monash has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and to provide advice on how they might uphold them. You can find Monash’s Education Policies at: www.policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/academic/education/index.html
Important student resources including Faculty policies are located at http://intranet.monash.edu.au/infotech/resources/students/
The University provides many different kinds of support services for you. Contact your tutor if you need advice and see the range of services available at http://www.monash.edu.au/students. For Malaysia see http://www.monash.edu.my/Student-services, and for South Africa see http://www.monash.ac.za/current/.
The Monash University Library provides a range of services, resources and programs that enable you to save time and be more effective in your learning and research. Go to www.lib.monash.edu.au or the library tab in my.monash portal for more information. At Malaysia, visit the Library and Learning Commons at http://www.lib.monash.edu.my/. At South Africa visit http://www.lib.monash.ac.za/.
Some useful web resources
www.ai-depot.com
www.generation5.org
www.ai-junkie.com
www.gamedev.net