Genetic Algorithms at Freeform Boat Design

Discussion in 'General Computing' started by mustafaumut, Nov 8, 2009.

  1. mustafaumut
    Joined: Jul 2005
    Posts: 29
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    Location: Istanbul

    mustafaumut Junior Member

    I am not an artist or educated designer and creating free form shapes creates headaches. There is a architect at Italy , surname is Soddu and his private program creates thousands of different design for a target or free form.
    Can you advise me a software , program or a code to do this ?
    I want Luigi Colani like aesthetic , hydrodynamic , nature inspired designs - fractals ?- to Lebbeus Woods free forms.
    I am tired to seeing triangular boats.

    Mustafa Umut Sarac

    Istanbul
     
  2. marshmat
    Joined: Apr 2005
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    Location: Ontario

    marshmat Senior Member

    Yep. It's called P&P. (Short for: Pencil and paper.)

    No computer program, no matter how sophisticated, will do a design for you. The best a computer can do is to speed up calculations that you already know how to do, but would take a long time to do by hand. Things like evaluating Michell's integrals for wake formation, or computing the volumes and centres of complex-curved, 3D shapes.

    Genetic algorithms do not make a design from nothing- all they do is to evaluate thousands of possible combinations of input parameters for some formula or algorithm, presenting you with the combinations that produced an output value close to what you requested. Obviously, a pencil-and-paper designer can't do resistance calculations on 5,000 possible hulls- a computer can do this easily, and such an algorithm can be hugely beneficial to a designer who knows what to put into it and how to interpret what comes out. Of course, if someone who doesn't know how the calculation works tries to go straight to the computer, there is a pretty good chance that he will (a) end up with garbage, and/or (b) not know how to interpret the result.

    Sorry to burst your bubble, Mustafa, but the only way to learn how to do what you're asking is to read textbooks, study successful designs, take classes, and work through the design process yourself, the hard way, until you can answer the question for yourself.
     
  3. Leo Lazauskas
    Joined: Jan 2002
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    Location: Adelaide, South Australia

    Leo Lazauskas Senior Member

    My program "Michlet" uses memetic algorithms to search for hull shapes that meet certain user-defined criteria and constraints. That module of Michlet is called "Godzilla".

    However, take note of Marshmat's comments in the previous reply. Godzilla does not design anything, it merely searches large parameter spaces.

    All the best,
    Leo.
     
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