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 fluids. Each simulated body consists of a network of particles that can be upgraded 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 neural networks. The bodies can be thought of as agents or digital organisms operating in a common environment. Their blueprints can be stored in genomes and passed on to offspring.

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.