Quelltext der Seite The alphabet synthesis machine

 

== Reference ==
Levin, G., Feinberg, J., Curtis, C.: [[The alphabet synthesis machine]] (2006).

== DOI ==

== Abstract ==
The 
Alphabet Synthesis Machine is an interactive online artwork which allows 
one to create and evolve the possible writing systems of one’s own imaginary 
civilizations. The abstract alphabets produced by the Machine can be downloaded 
as PC-format TrueType fonts, and are entered into a comprehensive archive of 
user creations. The products of the Machine probe the liminal territories between 
familiarity and chaos, language and gesture. 

== Extended Abstract ==
TECHNICAL REALIZATION
The  Alphabet Synthesis Machine is comprised of two software systems: an inter-
active client-side applet, which allows users to create and evolve their abstract 
letterforms, and a server-side archiving system which stores the user creations as 
downloadable TrueType fonts.
At the heart of the interactive applet is a genetic algorithm. This algorithm attempts 
to evolve a population of candidate glyphs according to a set of fitness metrics 
established by the user. Some of these fitness metrics are obtained from an initial 
‘seed glyph’ provided by the user, while others are controlled by the user in 
real-time, through a set of parametric sliders and other interface controls. The 
glyphs are evolved both as individuals (i.e. each in relation to an ideal metric, in 
order to enhance their individual ‘letterness’), and also as a species (i.e. each in 
contradistinction to each other, in order to enhance the variety of the alphabet 
as a whole).
The glyphs themselves are the virtual trajectories of synthetic hand movements, 
produced by a 3-dimensional physics simulation of a hand-pen-paper system. This 
model incorporates such forces as the response of hand muscles to neural firing 
rates; the inertia and intrisic viscosity of the arm; gravity; and the friction of the 
stylus against the virtual writing surface. 
When the user is finished evolving their abstract alphabet, its glyphs are converted 
into quadratic Bezier outlines and then transmitted to the server, which stores 
them as a PC-formatted TrueType font. This font can be downloaded at the time of 
its creation, or at any future time from an online archives of user creations. Visitors 
have created more than 5000 alphabets since the project’s launch (1 October 2001).
While this version of the machine (1.0) deals strictly with single-stroked cursive 
alphabetic forms, future versions of the ASM will explore the possibilities of cut- 
and printed-letterform simulation.

== Bibtex == 

== Used References ==
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== Links ==
=== Full Text === 
http://www.flong.com/storage/pdf/reports/alphabet_report.pdf

[[intern file]]

=== Sonstige Links ===
http://www.alphabetsynthesis.com, October 2014 => 404