algorithmic modeling for Rhino

Octopus

Information

Octopus is a plug-in for applying evolutionary principles to parametric design and problem solving. It allows the search for many goals at once, producing a range of optimized trade-off solutions between the extremes of each goal.

Also see octopus.E for custom evolutionary algorithms.

Download the latest version on food4rhino

It is part of a range of tools developed at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, and Bollinger+Grohmann Engineers.

search for single goal + diversity of solutions
search for best trade offs between 2 to X goals
improve solutions by similarity-goals
choose preferred solutions during a search
change objectives during a search
solutions' 3d models for visual feedback
recorded history
save all search data within the Grasshopper document
save a solution as a Grasshopper State
export to text or text files

Octopus introduces multiple fitness values to the optimization. The best trade-offs between those objectives are searched, producing a set of possible optimum solutions that ideally reach from one extreme trade-off to the other.

Based on SPEA-2 and HypE from ETH Zürich and David Rutten's Galapagos User Interface. Developed by Robert Vierlinger in cooperation with Christoph Zimmel, karamba3d.com and Bollinger+Grohmann Engineers.

To install:

Copy the .gha and .dll file into the Grasshopper components folder
Right-click the file > Properties > make sure there is no "blocked" text
Restart Rhino and Grasshopper

Some examples are provided here.

New commented examples and a brief manual are provided in the download of octopus on food4rhino.

Location: Vienna
Members: 460
Latest Activity: 13 hours ago

Discussion Forum

Don't know where to start ! a newbie question 5 Replies

Hi everyone,I'm new to Octopus. I'm going to use Octopus with Diva ( daylighting analysis component). I have to outputs from two diva components that I need to feed them to Octopus as objective…Continue

Started by Ninja. Last reply by Michael Fluer 13 hours ago.

Octopus Loop - How to use 5 Replies

Hello everyone,very new to grasshopper, I want to repeat a process taking place on a grid multiple times using a Loop. I did it using the Anemone Loop which was great and easier for me to understand,…Continue

Tags: octopusloop

Started by Theodora Georgopoulou. Last reply by Michael Fluer Jan 9.

How to choose Graph Display (Pareto & Parallel) 1 Reply

Hey guys!I'm trying to view my solutions in what seems to be called the "Pareto Graph". Are you still able to see it? Last time I saw it being used was around 2015.Thank you :)!BestElinContinue

Tags: preview, settings, solutions, view, pareto

Started by Elin Daun. Last reply by Michael Fluer Nov 28, 2025.

Computer cluster to reduce the optimization time? 3 Replies

Is it possible to use a computer cluster to reduce the optimization time in octopus?Someone has already tried something…Continue

Tags: octopus, optimization, cluster, computer

Started by J[D]. Last reply by Michael Fluer Jul 10, 2025.

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Comment Wall

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Comment by abner on May 7, 2019 at 23:59: Hi all,I want to know how to use Octopus to solve my problems, how can I get some related cases or tutorials?

thank you

Comment by RENhui on April 2, 2019 at 17:15: Hi， guys. I am using the Octopus to operate the optimization of the performance of building. However, during the optimization process, the octopus show the black interface like the following and I restart the Octopus still cannot solve the problem. I wonder if anyone could give me the suggestions... Need U help.

Comment by Max Marschall on November 10, 2018 at 4:09: Hi Robert, is there a way to set the solution parameters and trigger the solver from within a definition (as opposed to opening the Octopus interface)?

Comment by Andrew Chase on October 9, 2018 at 14:19: hi,

I have Rhino 6 and grasshopper 1.0.0007 I am trying to load Octopus, but for some reason it isn't loading nor is it relating to the HelixToolkit.Wpf.dll file. I have restarted grasshopper and my computer repeatedly, still nothing. However, I have the octopus component In the folder, and I can place the component and it isn't recognizing.

pls help

Comment by Mateusz Mazurek on September 23, 2018 at 14:03: @Alex Cligman

It works in Rhino6

I have a question - can we edit the scale of the axes somewhere?

I have one result in the range of 100-200 and another 1000-1200, I want the axes to have 1:1 relation starting from 0. How can I do that?

Comment by Alex Cligman on August 27, 2018 at 8:20: Can anyone confirm if octopus is wokring on rhino 6? Hesistant to upgrade!

Comment by Alvaro Rodriguez Garcia on May 7, 2018 at 5:26: Hello, I have 2 questions:
1. What is the maximum amount of objectives that octopus can handle and how are they represented ( since it only has 3 axis)
2. Is there an available example of using octopus together with Design explorer?

Thank you so much !

Comment by Robert Vier on February 9, 2016 at 5:09: Hi Aymeric,

sorry for the inconvenience. It seems to be a problem with the HelixViewport. do you see any messages in the Rhino Command Prompt Window when running your setup and octopus?

You could also try to place the latest version of helixtoolkitwpf.dll from the helixtoolkit in the libraries folder..! HelixToolkit.Wpf.dll

And if you would not mind, please post questions like this into the discussion forum next time!

Best

Robert

Comment by Aymeric on February 9, 2016 at 4:26: Hi guys,

I've just installed Octopus 0.3.6. (Unlock the files and copy/paste in the Component folder...)

Unfortunately, I can't see the axes of the viewport neither the view cube when I open the Octopus window. The Solver seems to run but I don't get any visualization of the fitness landscape. I have tried with another computer and everything looks fine. Does anyone of you have already experienced such a case? How could I solve this problem for computer 1?

Here attached image on computer 1 followed by image on computer 2.

Thanks for any idea!

Best regards,

Aymeric

Comment by Andy Chen on August 10, 2015 at 20:21: Hi guys,i just start to use octopus,and i want to know how it works.Where can i find the essay or articals?Thanks a lot!