Remi van TrijpBabel is a flexible toolkit for implementing and running agent-based experiments on emergent communication. The Babel system includes advanced modules for constructional language processing and learning (Fluid Construction Grammar), conceptualising and interpreting procedural semantic structures (Incremental Recruitment Language), and conducting multi-agent experiments in simulated environments or using physical robots.
An extensive monitoring system opens up every detail of Babel’s intermediate representations and underlying dynamics. A modular design ensures that the system can be used in a wide variety of scenarios. It is therefore possible to use each component individually, according to your needs.
Babel is written in Common Lisp and runs in most major Lisp implementations (CCL, SBCL and LispWorks (excluding Personal Edition)) on all major platforms (Linux, Mac OS, Windows).
For more information about getting the Babel toolkit, installing a Common Lisp development environment and setting up your system, we refer to our installation page. There, you can find detailed guides for each operating system.
This website also contains a range of practical recipes for learning about common problems and solutions in the Babel Toolkit. This ranges from setting up an emergent communication experiment, over writing FCG constructions to more advanced topics such as setting up your own FCG server, creating a web demonstration, etc.
If you have questions about the Babel Toolkit, you can get in touch with the Babel development team at ehai@ai.vub.ac.be.