A Robust Sensing System in a Distributed Computing Environment

In this paper, we describe a system in the movable feast machine framework of Artificial Life. The movable feast machine (MFM) is a recent development in the artificial life community, intended to describe a more intuitive framework for computation using a type of cellular automata. We present a design for a set of MFM elements which construct a phased sensor array to sense incoming data. The system as a whole gathers directionally oriented data transmissions and tells us where the data is coming from. This can enable users to do things like analyze incoming data or to establish communications pathways.

We have illustrated the design for a phased array system, implemented in MFM elements. This fixed array allows us to detect incoming data and determine where it is coming from. We showed that the density of antennae and directions that they point in have a critical impact on the quality of sensing we get from the system. This system is intended to be a useful component in a larger MFM system, such as a router in a communication network or an artificial eye in an ALife organism. Such a system does not yet exist, but this system's design will hopefully spur further development in this area. Future plans involve the construction of such a general communication system for MFM systems, enabling multiple MFM implementations to interact. This proto-Internet would enable MFM developers to construct even larger systems on top of it, expanding upon the MFM's promise of massive scalability.