Artificial Life Environment

Artificial Life Environment (ALIEN) is an artificial life simulation tool based on a specialized 2D particle engine in CUDA for soft bodies and fluid-like media. Each simulated body consists of a network of particles that can be enriched with higher-level functions, ranging from pure information processing capabilities to physical equipment (such as sensors, muscles, weapons, constructors, etc.) whose executions are orchestrated by a signaling system. The bodies can be thought of as agents or digital organisms operating in a common environment.

The simulation code is written entirely in CUDA and optimized for large-scale real-time simulations with millions of particles. The development is driven by the desire to better understand the conditions for (pre-)biotic evolution and the growing complexity of biological systems. An important goal is to make the simulator user-friendly through a modern user interface, visually appealing rendering and a playful approach.

The simulator is open-source and also available at https://github.com/chrxh/alien.