ftp info is at the tail of this file.


         NuTank, Copyright Richard Keene 1994, All rights reserved.
 
NuTank stands for NeuralTank.  In this program one is given
the shell of a 2 dimentional robotic tank.  The tank has
various I/O devices like wheels, whiskers, optical sensors,
smell, fuel level, sound and such.  These 
I/O sensors are connected to Neurons.  The player/designer
uses more Neurons to interconnect the I/O devices.  One can
have any level of complexity desired (memory limited) and do
subsumptive designs. More complex design take slightly more fuel, so
life is not free. All movement costs fuel too.  One can
also tag neuron connections as "adaptable" that adapt their weights in
acordance with the target neuron. This allows neurons to learn.

The Neuron editor can handle 3 dimention arrays of neurons
as single entities with very flexible interconect patterns.

One can also design a Glyph or drawing to represent the 
robot and/or obstacle.  (or bug, worm, whatever)

One can then design a scenario with walls, rocks, lights,
fat (fuel) sources (that can be smelled) and many other such things.

Robot tanks are then introduced into the Scenario and 
allowed  interact or battle it out.  The last one alive wins, 
or maybe one just watches the motion of the robots for fun.
While the scenario is running it can be stopped, edited, 
zoom'd, and can track on any robot.

The entire program is mouse and graphicly based.  It uses 
DOS and VGA and is written in TurboC++

There will also be the ability to download designs to another 
computer and source code
will be available for the core neural simulator.  This will 
allow one to design neural systems and download them to real 
robots.  
The design tools can handle three dimentional networks
so will work with video camera inputs and such.

Eventualy I expect to do a port to UNIX and multi thread the sign.
I also expect to do a Mac port and maybe NT or OS/2

The theory that I eventualy want to test has to do with 
the self oscillating nature of combined subsumptive and standard 
neural nets. One can also work on flock and pack behavior.

        Richard Keene
        Keene Educational Software
        Dick.Keene@Central.Sun.COM

Copies of NuTank cost $50 each.  Please send a check or moneyorder to
the above address.

NuTank shareware with the Save options disabled is available via 
anonymous ftp from the Internet, vi email from me, or from various BBS's
The ftp site is
	cher.media.mit.edu:/pub/incomming
	or
	ftp.essex.ac.uk:/robot/Simulators/NuTank

	nutank.exe
	nutank.readme
	nutank.ps  (Just the paper in PostScript)
	final.ps  (final version of the paper, shorter, expert only)

	After it unpacks nutank.exe is the program


        After Oct 3rd 1994 I'll be working for the Park City Group 
        and can be reached at  
        801-649-2221