Modulobe: Free Software for Constructing Virtual Creatures

Modulobe, by Kouichirou Eto et al., is a free software tool for constructing virtual creatures.

[Sample creatures made with Modulobe.]

Download from here

Eto is a highly techno-savvy artist, who made significant contributions to successful projects including Music Plays Images X Images Play Music (with Toshio Iwai and Ryuichi Sakamoto) and Sensorium -- I remember his name as the author of the software patch for making LambdaMOO work with Japanese 2-byte character codes.

Modulobe is a simulation system that allows users to easily create and share virtual creatures by combining so-called "modules." The composed creatures and the world they inhabit operate based on the law of physics.

You can find creatures contributed by users here:
- Animals with many legs
- vehicles
- realistic
- insect-ish

Like Takeo Igarashi's work on Teddy (a sketching interface for 3d freeform design), modulobe could make it a lot easier for end-users to create animated 3d models. I'd think something like Modulobe can be used as an educational tool for young kids as well.

Modulobe is a project in Fluid Information Design Group at National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). Contributors include: Kouichirou Eto, Kuniaki Watanabe, Takashi Maekawa, Yoshinori Kawasaki, and Minoru Sakurai.