Stochastic reconstruction of images

The Evolution of Mona Lisa by Roger Alsing has inspired a lot of people including myself. So, I have spend a few hours during my Christmas vacation to make my own software version :-)

In short, the algorithm is a simple stochastic hill-climber similar to Roger's (although he claims that it is related to genetic programming - which is not the case). A candidate solution is represented by a set of geometric shapes (either polygons, rectangles, squares, or circles). Each polygon is represented by a set of points (a rectangle is represented by a position, width, and height etc). Moreover, each shape has a color (r,g,b) and an alpha value. The candidate solution is modified using a set of simple variation operators (e.g. change shape color, change position of shape, add or remove shape, etc.). A new candidate solution replaces the previous one if it is better (with repect to a scoring function rewarding pixel color matches and penalizing pixel color deviations). The current scoring function used is the same as the one Roger Alsing uses (I am currently working on other alternatives to the scoring function and optimization algorithm).

I have posted a screenshot of my forthcoming 'Reconstructor' application below. I will post binaries and source-code as soon as I have implemented a few new ideas that I got earlier this week...

Until then you can browse some of the images that I have 'reconstructed'...

Reconstructor prototype

Minifigs dissected

Jason Freeny just dissected a LEGO minifig...very cool stuff - if you are a LEGO nerd. You can order a printed copy of the picture below from Moist Productions website.

XBox media center for Mac

Are you also frustrated by the limitations of Front Row? Then you might want to take a look at XBMC. The porting of the XBox media center has matured a lot lately and the latest version looks very promising. Plex is another port of XBMC that is also worth looking into.

NuevaSync: Sync Google contacts and calendars on your iPhone

NuevaSync makes it very easy to do over-the-air, native synchronization of your iPhone or iPod touch with your Google calendars and contacts without the need of third-party software. NuevaSync is currently in beta but it works perfectly fine on my iPod touch (and it is free!). The only drawback at the moment is that you can only edit and add calendar events to the first calendar listed in Google Calendar - all other calendars are read-only...

Upgrading your household equipment

The Bier Maxx beer dispenser is certainly worth looking into. I think I will get one of these ASAP so that I can consume my homebrew beers in a more cool manner :)

Prepare for geek war

The USB Missile Launcher just got wireless - prepare for fun battles at the office :)

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Photographs by Nick Brandt

Check out his gallery for more stunning photographs.