JohnnyVon: Self-Replicating Automata in Continuous Two-Dimensional Space
<|reference_start|>JohnnyVon: Self-Replicating Automata in Continuous Two-Dimensional Space: JohnnyVon is an implementation of self-replicating automata in continuous two-dimensional space. Two types of particles drift about in a virtual liquid. The particles are automata with discrete internal states but continuous external relationships. Their internal states are governed by finite state machines but their external relationships are governed by a simulated physics that includes brownian motion, viscosity, and spring-like attractive and repulsive forces. The particles can be assembled into patterns that can encode arbitrary strings of bits. We demonstrate that, if an arbitrary "seed" pattern is put in a "soup" of separate individual particles, the pattern will replicate by assembling the individual particles into copies of itself. We also show that, given sufficient time, a soup of separate individual particles will eventually spontaneously form self-replicating patterns. We discuss the implications of JohnnyVon for research in nanotechnology, theoretical biology, and artificial life.<|reference_end|>
@article{smith2002johnnyvon:,
    title={JohnnyVon: Self-Replicating Automata in Continuous Two-Dimensional Space},
    author={Arnold Smith (National Research Council of Canada), Peter Turney
  (National Research Council of Canada), Robert Ewaschuk (University of
  Waterloo)},
    journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:cs/0212010},
    year={2002},
    number={NRC-44953},
    archivePrefix={arXiv},
    eprint={cs/0212010},
    primaryClass={cs.NE cs.CE}
}