Rafael y Pérez

The ERI-Designer: A Computer Model for the Arrangement of Furniture

This paper reports a computer program to generate novel designs for the arrangement of furniture within a simulated room. It is based on the engagement-reflection computer model of the creative processes. During engagement the system generates material in the form of sequences of actions (e.g. change the colours of the walls, include some furniture in the room, modify their colour, and so on) guided by content and knowledge constraints. During reflection, the system evaluates the composition produced so far and, if it is necessary, modifies it. We discuss the implementation of the system and some of its most salient features, especially the use of a computational model for creativity in the terrain of design. We argue that this kind of model opens new possibilities for the simulation of the design processes as well as the development of tools.

From MEXICA to MEXICA-Impro: The Evolution of a Computer Model for Plot Generation

In this chapter I describe the engagement-reflection computer model of creative writing and provide details on how this model can be employed to implement agents capable of generating individual or collaborative plots. I emphasize the role of evaluation as part of the creative process and suggest some criteria that an agent must satisfy to generate c-creative products.

Commonsense Knowledge as the Glue in a Hybrid Model of Computational Creativity

In this paper, we describe on-going work on the ensemble of two models for computational creativity using commonsense knowledge. The GENCAD model of computational creativity proposes the use of an evolutionary algorithm (EA) that employs a population of exemplars as a starting point for its search, unlike traditional EAs, which employ a randomly-generated initial population. The EA, operating on this population, is then used to generate new potentially creative solutions. GENCAD has been instantiated in the domains of structural design of tall buildings and feng shui-compliant residential floor-plan design. The MEXICA model of computational creativity also begins with a set of exemplars as a starting point, but it analyzes these exemplars based on a domain theory. The generalized model that is obtained from analyzing the set of exemplars is then used to guide the generation of new solutions. MEXICA has been instantiated in the domain of plot generation for stories involving themes, characters and locations from the Mexica culture of ancient Mexico. In the hybrid model, we combine the two original models to generate plots for stories of the same sort that MEXICA generates, but using GENCADs process model to do so. To confirm that the generated plots make sense, the hybrid model integrates commonsense knowledge into its evaluation module.