Controlled cellular automata

Abstract

Cellular Automata have been successfully used to model evolution of complex systems based on simples rules. In this paper we introduce controlled cellular automata to depict the dynamics of systems with controls that can affect their evolution. Using theory from discrete control systems, we derive results for the control of cellular automata in specific cases. The paper is mostly oriented toward two applications: fire spreading; morphogenesis and tumor growth. In both cases, we illustrate the impact of a control on the evolution of the system. For the fire, the control is assumed to be either firelines or firebreaks to prevent spreading or dumping of water, fire retardant and chemicals (foam) on the fire to neutralize it. In the case of cellular growth, the control describes mechanisms used to regulate growth factors and morphogenic events based on the existence of extracellular matrix structures called fractones. The hypothesis is that fractone distribution may coordinate the timing and location of neural cell proliferation, thereby guiding morphogenesis, at several stages of early brain development.