Creating artificial entities that are lifelike and comfortable for human users to interact with is a critical challenge in a number of fields from robotics to human-computer interface design. Fractal systems are a mathematical model that can be observed in many natural systems from microscopic cellular biology through to satellite imagery. The recursive, self-similar nature of fractal systems makes them well suited to the automated creation of natural 3D forms. This research looked at the fractal dimension of artificially created forms, in particular looking at whether differing levels of fractal dimension made a difference to how natural, appealing or lifelike an item was to the user. A randomized trial ni¾?=i¾?25 identified that differing levels of fractal dimension did generate differing levels of response from users. This finding identifies the potential to use fractal dimension as a design principal when creating the physical forms that represent artificial life.
['Dale Patterson', 'Daniel Della-Bosca']
Fractal Dimension - A Spatial and Visual Design Technique for the Creation of Lifelike Artificial Forms