(Emergent Morphology)
3 Phisics
The dynamics of motion are created using a qualitative physics model,
tailored specifically for this animation system. It incorporates forward
dynamics - acceleration is caused by forces exerted internally within
the animat by way of deformations in its internal structure (autonomously changing
angles of the joints connecting limbs). The model is simple yet produces
many of the salient features of interacting objects in the real world, such
as gravitational effects, inertia, angular and translational momentum,
friction, and dampening. An animat is treated essentially as a rigid body
which can deform itself autonomously but cannot be deformed passively by way
of outside forces such as collision with the ground surface.
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