Stigmergic self-assembly of prespecified artificial structures in a constrained and continuous environment

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Grushin, Alexander | Reggia, James A.^{; *}

Affiliations: Department of Computer Science, A.V. Williams Building, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: James A. Reggia, Tel.: +1 301 405 2686; Fax: +1 301 405 6707; E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract: The distributed control of self-assembly processes requires local behaviors that will cause initially unorganized components to form a desired goal structure. While important strides have been made in designing methods for self-assembling various geometric structures under idealized simulated conditions, many unaddressed issues remain in extending these methods to more complex environments. In this work, we discuss the self-assembly of prespecified 3D structures from blocks of different sizes. Block movements through a continuous environment are constrained by each other and simulated gravity, adding to the problem's difficulty. We present a solution that integrates three distinct techniques from the field of swarm intelligence: stigmergic pattern recognition, force-based movement control, and coordination via local message passing and state changes. Further, we empirically demonstrate that a stochastic component in the blocks' acceleration can aid in preventing persistent interference, and that the use of collective, flock-like movements can be beneficial in situations of low block availability. This work provides insight into the dynamics of continuous-space self-assembly, and is a step towards the design of methods for the automated “growth” of useful structures in real-world environments.

DOI: 10.3233/ICA-2006-13401

Journal: Integrated Computer-Aided Engineering, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 289-312, 2006