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  • Book
  • © 2012

Morphogenetic Engineering

Toward Programmable Complex Systems

  • Edited and authored by leading researchers in the field
  • First comprehensive monograph on this newly emerging field
  • Suitable as both self-study tutorial and reference text
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Part of the book series: Understanding Complex Systems (UCS)

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Table of contents (19 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-ix
  2. Morphogenetic Engineering: Reconciling Self-Organization and Architecture

    • René Doursat, Hiroki Sayama, Olivier Michel
    Pages 1-24
  3. Constructing

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 25-25
    2. SWARMORPH: Morphogenesis with Self-Assembling Robots

      • Rehan O’Grady, Anders Lyhne Christensen, Marco Dorigo
      Pages 27-60
    3. Collective Construction with Robot Swarms

      • Justin Werfel
      Pages 115-140
    4. Issues in Self-Repairing Robotic Self-Assembly

      • Daniel J. Arbuckle, Aristides A. G. Requicha
      Pages 141-155
    5. Programming Self-Assembling Systems via Physically Encoded Information

      • Navneet Bhalla, Peter J. Bentley
      Pages 157-188
  4. Coalescing

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 189-189
    2. Swarm-Based Morphogenetic Artificial Life

      • Hiroki Sayama
      Pages 191-208
    3. Emergent Swarm Morphology Control of Wireless Networked Mobile Robots

      • Alan F. T. Winfield, Julien Nembrini
      Pages 239-271
  5. Developing

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 273-273
    2. Embryomorphic Engineering: Emergent Innovation Through Evolutionary Development

      • René Doursat, Carlos Sánchez, Razvan Dordea, David Fourquet, Taras Kowaliw
      Pages 275-311
    3. A Synthesis of the Cell2Organ Developmental Model

      • Sylvain Cussat-Blanc, Jonathan Pascalie, Sébastien Mazac, Hervé Luga, Yves Duthen
      Pages 353-381
    4. A Computational Framework for Multilevel Morphologies

      • Sara Montagna, Mirko Viroli
      Pages 383-405
  6. Generating

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 407-407

About this book

 Generally, spontaneous pattern formation phenomena are random and repetitive, whereas elaborate devices are the deterministic product of human design.
Yet, biological organisms and collective insect constructions are exceptional examples of complex systems that are both self-organized and architectural.
 
This book is the first initiative of its kind toward establishing a new field of research, Morphogenetic Engineering, to explore the modeling and implementation of “self-architecturing” systems. Particular emphasis is placed on the programmability and computational abilities of self-organization, properties that are often underappreciated in complex systems science—while, conversely, the benefits of self-organization are often underappreciated in engineering methodologies.
 
Altogether, the aim of this work is to provide a framework for and examples of a larger class of “self-architecturing” systems, while addressing fundamental questions such as
 
> How do biological organisms carry out morphogenetic tasks so reliably?
> Can we extrapolate their self-formation capabilities to engineered systems?
> Can physical systems be endowed with information (or informational systems be embedded in physics) so as to create autonomous morphologies and functions?
> What are the core principles and best practices for the design and engineering of such morphogenetic systems?
The intended audience consists of researchers and graduate students who are working on, starting to work on, or interested in programmable self-organizing systems in a wide range of scientific fields, including computer science, robotics, bioengineering, control engineering, physics, theoretical biology, mathematics, and many others.

Editors and Affiliations

  • Institut des Systèmes Complexes, Paris Ile-de-France, Ecole Polytechnique, Paris, France

    René Doursat

  • Binghamton University, Dept. Bioengineering, State University of New York, Binghamton, USA

    Hiroki Sayama

  • Faculté des Sciences et Technologie, Lab. LACL-EA 4219, Université Paris-Est Créteil, Créteil Cedex, France

    Olivier Michel

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access