Summary: Modeling Plants with
Environment­Sensitive Automata
James Arvo and David Kirk*, Apollo Computer, Inc.,
330 Billerica, Chelmsford, MA 01824, USA.
*current address: California Institute of Technology,
Computer Science 256­80, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Abstract
We present a new approach for modeling plants
which allows for adaptation to geometrical and
material properties of a simulated environment.
The form of a plant is derived from the paths of
one or more automata which begin as seeds and
progressively explore the environment. The au­
tomata sense their surroundings by casting rays
and using intersection information to influence
subsequent patterns of growth. In this way the
power of well­known ray tracing techniques is ap­
plied to a problem of geometric modeling. By
seeking locations which satisfy various environ­
mental criteria such as proximity to surfaces and

Source: Arvo, Jim - Departments of Information and Computer Science & Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Irvine

Collections: Computer Technologies and Information Sciences