A Closer Look at the Evolutionary Dynamics of Self-Reproducing Cellular Automata

1
A Closer Look at the Evolutionary Dynamics of
Self-Reproducing Cellular Automata

• Antony Antony Chris Salzberg
• Research Supervised by Dr. Hiroki Sayama
• University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo, Japan

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Time line relating current work
40s Von Neumann
1994 Tierra Etc..
1970 Game of Life
1984 SR Loop
1998 Evoloop
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Related History
Von Neumanns Universal Constructor
Conways Game of Life
Sayamas Evoloop
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Our Approach

• abstract from the natural self-reproduction
  problem its logical form.
• Von Neumann wished to investigate the logic
  necessary for replication - he was not
  interested, nor did he have the tools, in
  building a working machine at the bio-chemical or
  genetic level. Remember that at the time DNA had
  not yet been discovered as the genetic material
  in nature.

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Langtons SR Loop

• 8 states
• 5 cell neighbourhood (Von Neumann)
• Program for self-replication contained in gene
  sequence (genotype)
• Death occurs via functional failure

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Sayamas Evoloop

• 9 states (SR Loop dissolving state)
• 5 cell neighbourhood (Von Neumann)
• Modified rule set introduces adaptivity leading
  to evolution
• Death occurs via structural dissolution

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Evoloop States
State Name Function
0 Black Background
1 Blue Core Fills tube of loop
2 Red Sheath External structure
3 Purple Structure of arm
4 Green Gene Info for turning arm
5 Light Blue Messenger
6 Yellow Messenger/Guide/Finisher
7 White Gene Info for straight growth
8 Grey Dissolver Dissolves loop structure
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Evoloops
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Memory Layer Interaction
T
C
L
R
I
B
Interaction
M
N
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Properties of the Dissolving State
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References

• Hiroki Sayama, A new structurally dissolvable
  self-reproducing loop evolving in a simple
  cellular automata space, Artificial Life, vol.5,
  no.4, pp.343-365, 1999. Full Text
• Hiroki Sayama Constructing Evolutionary Systems
  on a Simple Deterministic Cellular Automata
  Space, Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of
  Information Science, Graduate School of Science,
  University of Tokyo, December 1998. Full Text
• Langton, C. G. Self-reproduction in cellular
  automata, Physica D, 10 pp. 135-144, 1984
• Wolfram S. A New kind of science, Wolfram Media,
  2002, Link
• . Work in progress http//evoloops.phenome.nl