Date of Award

2019

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Computer Science

Department

Computer Science and Statistics

First Advisor

Lutz Hamel

Abstract

The origins of evolutionary computation can be traced back to the late 1950s and started to receive significant attention during the 1980s. Pioneers have done a lot of research by using evolutionary computation, especially in the field of design, music, and art. This article focuses on the violin outline design, which is a very tiny segment of design. By using the evolution strategies algorithm, the violin explorer, a violin design tool has been developed. Meanwhile, by introducing user interaction steps, the violin explorer became a creative evolutionary system. With this system, ordinary people without any design knowledge can create their favorite violin outline by simple choices.

In addition, after reviewed by Institutional Review Board, an anonymous experiment was held to verify the usability of the violin explorer. Hundreds of participants with different ages and backgrounds were invited to use the violin explorer. During the anonymous experiment, the violin explorer generated a lot of creative violin outline designs, which are different from the original violin. Finally, the experimental data shows that there might be a connection between the age and background of the participants and their design.

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