PhysOM: Physarum polycephalum Oriented Microstructures

Biological shapes possess fascinating properties and behaviours that are the result of emergent mechanisms: they can evolve over time, dynamically adapt to changes in their environment, while also exhibiting interesting mechanical properties and aesthetic appeal. In this work, we bring and extend an existing biological‐inspired model of the Physarum polycephalum, aka the blob, to the field of computer graphics, in order to design porous organic‐like microstructures that resemble natural foam‐like cells or filament‐like patterns with variable local properties. In contrast to approaches based on static global optimization that provides only limited expressivity over the result, our method allows precise control over the local orientation of 3D patterns, relative cell extension and precise infill of shapes with well defined boundaries. To this end, we extend the classical agent‐based model for Physarum to fill an arbitrary domain with local anisotropic behaviour. We further provide a detailed analysis of the model parameters, contributing to the understanding of the system behaviour. The method is fast, parallelizable and scalable to large volumes and compatible with user interaction, allowing a designer to guide the structure, erase parts and observe its evolution in real‐time. Overall, our method provides a versatile and efficient means of generating intricate organic microstructures that have potential applications in fields such as additive manufacturing, design or biological representation and engineering. This work extends a biological‐inspired model to computer graphics, enabling the design of porous organic‐like microstructures with precise local control over 3D patterns. The method offers scalability, user interaction and potential applications in additive manufacturing, design and biological engineering, providing efficient generation of intricate structures.