Evolution of Parallel Cellular Machines

Collective systems, abounding in nature, have evolved by natural selection to exhibit striking problem-solving capacities. Employing simple yet versatile parallel cellular models, coupled with evolutionary computation techniques, this volume explores the issue of constructing man-made systems that exhibit characteristics like those occuring in nature. Parallel cellular machines hold potential both scientifically, as vehicles for studying phenomena of interest in areas such as complex adaptive systems and artificial life, and practically, enabling the construction of novel systems, endowed with evolutionary, reproductive, regenerative, and learning capabilities. This volume examines the behavior of such machines, the complex computation they exhibit, and the application of artificial evolution to attain such systems.