APPENDIX D : LO G OF THE PROJECT DEVELO PMENT
INITIAL
TESTS
Studying agent movement (from M. Lewis example) and interaction with the surface. Changed some parameters that control movement, producing different results. Here the turning radius is very small producing peeks.
Introducing
free
random
movement and several agents.
Trying with spheres because they are non-directional shapes, and hide some frantic movement
Scaling the surface to study the mechanism surface. Testing scene. a simple information display to control data from the of communication between mobile agent and static
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FIRST
LANDSCAPES
The systems geometry is set. The surface and the info-source are scaled to the final size.
The agent’s position resulting from random movement is continuously communicated to the surface, thus changing it.
The hidden.
surface
becomes
a
landscape, with the agent activity
The two layers: architecture and information. An initial source is introduced.
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DEMONSTRATION
OF THE
SYSTEM
Top view of the surface.
Navigating the surface.
Multiple mobile agents change the surface according to their movement. The centre grows more because they always return to the source.
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AGENT
COMMUNICATION
The surface is modulated by the info-agent when it reaches the target to drop data and sends a stimulus to the arch-agent. The result is an even growth in every part of the surface.
A colour code is passed to the surface to more easily assess the communication between agents. Some observations are only possible by comparing the colour of the agents with the colour passed to the surface. And also the resulting “painting”.
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INFO-AGENTS
BECOME SELECTIVE
To avoid the too densely chaotic pattern a different spacing of agents is tested.
It is observed that agents replace the colour of arch-agents: They mix different types of data. A new movement is added: the agents select a new target when the first is not of a certain type. Here they move constantly.
The
selective
behaviour
is
introduced. The info-agent only drops data in areas with the same type.
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TESTING
WITH
40
INFO-AGENTS
Some tests to observe the system working with 40 info-agents. There is a correct communication and distribution of data.
The limits of the grid become a boundary beyond which the agents cannot move. Avoids them running away when minimized, and taking too long to return.
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INTRODUCING
THE ARCH-AGENT NEIGHBOURHOOD
The result is still dense and chaotic.
The Moore neighbourhood is introduced to promote the concentration of data of the same type. A tag is passed to archagent neighbours giving them the same type.
The colours of the landscape spread over larger areas.
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FOR
THE USER INTERFACE
To facilitate testing with different info-agent generates numbers them. It a is script only
necessary to change a number to specify how many agents are supposed to run, and all the code is dynamically created. This is a test with 100 agents.
After
knowing
that
the
communication is working, the colours are removed from the surface. Only the height changes.
Introduction of links at active arch-agents to allow the user to identify the content of mountains and link to data content.
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The links don’t face the user. Reading becomes more difficult.
The links are oriented at the moment they are generated, but don’t dynamically update their orientation.
The user can access the content of info-agents. A name appears on the top-right corner of the screen.
Info-agents towards the
in
empty source
state give a
message “collecting information”.
By clicking on the agent with the mouse a window pop’s up with a file. This can be of several formats. Here it is an image.
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A more subtle augmented reality style information display is introduced.
Links are placed under the surface to allow a reading of data organization when observing the info-source.
The links always face the user.
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But they don’t update when the arch-agent changes its height.
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Links are now fully dynamic, facing the user and updating their height.
The information is gathered in larger “hills” to avoid greater fragmentation of the surface.
Viewpoints for following an infoagent and an arch-agent are created. They give a greater understanding of their roles.
The
info-agents
have
reverse
behaviour resetting areas after some time.
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EXPLORATIONS
WITH A DIFFERENT GEOMETRY
A spherical geometry is used for the grid and surface. There are no info-agents involved. Just a test on the possibilities of controlling such a geometry
The surface slowly changes the height of its vertexes along the normals.
User movement inside the sphere activates the vertexes. After some activity the surface detaches from the grid.
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The transparency of the surface produces layered readings of the landscape.
Inside the sphere.
The transparent surface seen from the inside. The detachment is visible.
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