Programming AI with Leaf/Overview

Overview

The Leaf Project is a group robot development program whose objective is to develop a robot platform that supports experiments with artificial intelligence, computer vision|vision, navigation, etc.

Leaf was created by Bruce Weimer. He is an artificial life program. Leaf was inspired by the computer game Creatures (artificial life program)|Creatures, by Steve Grand, in which artificial beings hatch, develop, and interact in a simulated environment.

Leaf:

• has an artificial personality
• is an open source project
• responds to spoken commands
• responds to visual information
• can be used with just a Personal computer
• can be interfaced to a robot through his own circuit board
• is programmed in LISP
• can use a CSLU Toolkit animated face
• uses Robin Hewitt's webcam implementation to for vision
• can be completely customized and users are encouraged to customize and improve him
• software is currently used in an R2-D2 replica
• has a hardware/ electronic platform created by Alex Brown that supports basic mobility, sensing and control from an on-board PC

Three Leaf robots were completed in 2004 and four more were built in 2006.