As part of my PhD I developed software for procedurally generating complex organic 3D forms. This software, the Simplicial Developmental System (SDS), simulates biological and physical processes in order to grow a 3D structure in a virtual environment. The user of the software specifies the initial conditions, parameters of the processes, and the environmental configuration and then starts the simulation. By simulating simple cell behaviour, chemical signalling, and elasticity of organic matter, the system is able to generate a wide range of interesting organic shapes. You can read more about this research in my thesis, or in a couple of the papers I’ve written. The videos best demonstrate the capabilities of the system, and in addition to the images below, you can see more images at flickr
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- A 3D form “grown” in simulation.
The primary interface to the system is through Blender, a free 3D modelling package. The code is experimental, unoptimised, unstable, and probably won’t work any more, but nonetheless you can access it here.