Freeform Bodies

Every step of the figure

1. AN EMPTY SPACE

   Here a reinforcement learning agent does not learn to control a robot; it learns to build one, starting from empty space.

2. ONE CHOICE, ONE BLOCK

   Each choice places one block of passive tissue or muscle; the hills show where the agent is most likely to build.

3. A BODY TAKES SHAPE

   Forty choices later a body has grown; loose pieces are dropped, and only the connected part becomes the robot.

4. DISTANCE IS THE REWARD

   These little creatures are simulated and ranked by the distance they travel; the agent learns from the ranking, and better bodies emerge.