Birlinghoven Castle AI

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BIRLINGHOVEN CASTLE AI: IMAGE SYNTHESIS WITH CONNECTION MACHINE CM-5

In the early 1990s, AI image generation was an exciting field. At the GMD - National Research Center for Information Technology, we used the Thinking Machines’ CM-5, a parallel computer, for generative image synthesis. Starting with a digital photo of Birlinghoven Castle, the CM-5 displayed a grid of twenty mutations of the original image.
The process was interactive: using the mouse, we could cross one variant with another. The algorithm manipulated the RGB color values of each pixel, creating new images in real time. This method, resembling Mendel's law of inheritance, resulted in an endless variety of images from the original.
Digital images can be thought of as having a DNA, defined by the RGB values of each pixel. A 24-bit image can display up to 16.7 million colors. These colors, merely data sets, only become perceivable as colored light on a screen when processed by specific protocols.
Our work involved selecting and refining images until satisfactory results were achieved. For our Laboratory's image brochure, we chose a metamorphic image of Birlinghoven Castle, symbolizing a place of creative research.