(Disney Meets Darwin)

4 The Figures

The figures in this system are represented as rigid bodies made of interconnected limbs of varying lengths, joined at varying angles. Each figure conforms to a tree-like topology - no closed loops occur among the parts. The orientations of the limbs are hierarchical, as in most skeletal systems (for instance, when your elbow bends, everything from the elbow down rotates about the elbow joint). A body is deformable internally (autonomous changing of joint angles) but is rigid in the sense that it does not deform passively in response to environmental stimuli, such as collisions. There are four major classes (species) of figures I have developed. Four random samplings for each of these four species are shown in Figure 2, on the next page, to demonstrate morphological variation.

In the first species shown in the top row of the illustration, the number of limbs is fixed at five, although the length of each limb can vary according to genetic variation. Angles of the joints in the resting position also vary according to genes. In the second species, shown in the second row, the number of limbs and branching points (where each limb originates) can vary according to genes, as well as limb lengths and resting angles of the joints. The third species is an extension of the second species, into the third dimension. The fourth species - the "Vertebrates" - has a symmetrical morphology, and is also 3D. This is the species I will discuss most in this paper. In this species, genes are used to control such attributes as: number of vertebra, number of limb pairs, number of limb segments, 3D angles of the joints, and lengths of the limbs.

A list of effects of the genes for morphology for the Vertebrates is given below:

number of body segments
pitch angle of joints between body segments
number of opposing limb pairs
pitch angle at the branch point of each limb pair
yaw angle at the branch point of each limb pair changes in pitch angle at the branch point among consecutive limb pairs
changes in yaw angle at the branch point among consecutive limb pairs
number of segments in each limb
pitch angle of joints between limb segments
yaw angle of joints between limb segments






Figure 2. Four random variations from each of the four species of articulated figures

5 Physics

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