Project Foundation and Vision
This simulation system originated from Professor Lindy Roy's groundbreaking research "Intelligence, Atoms, and the Future of Settlement: A Texas Tale of Fear, Aggression and Love," exploring how affective behaviors emerge from minimal neural architectures. I am profoundly grateful to Professor Roy for inviting me to participate in this transformative project and providing invaluable learning opportunities. Without her trust, mentorship, and visionary leadership, I would never have accessed such profound theoretical insights. I extend equal gratitude to the entire research team - Sanford Kwinter for theoretical development, Adam Dour for physical robotic vehicle programming - for establishing the conceptual framework connecting affective intelligence to spatial organization that provided the essential foundation for all subsequent technical studies. The collaborative foundation established by this exceptional team made possible every aspect of the current digital exploration.
Post-Exhibition Technical Development
The web-based simulation implements Braitenberg's foundational sensor-motor wiring theory through sophisticated JavaScript and P5.js architecture. The system supports four distinct behavioral types based on connection patterns: aggressive vehicles (ipsilateral excitatory connections) that chase light sources directly with amplified speed response; fearful vehicles (contralateral excitatory) that flee from illumination with increased velocity; loving vehicles (contralateral inhibitory) that create orbital patterns around light sources with decelerated approach; and exploratory vehicles (ipsilateral inhibitory) that penetrate light boundaries with gentle speed reduction. Each vehicle maintains dual sensor arrays calculating real-time light intensity differentials, driving differential motor speeds through mathematical models that transform sensor readings into wheel velocities. The implementation features advanced collision-free navigation, dynamic trail memory systems visualizing movement histories, and real-time parameter adjustment capabilities allowing interactive modification of vehicle count (4-1000 agents), turn sensitivity (0.01-0.1 radians), speed ranges (1.0-12.0 units), and visual scaling during simulation runtime.
