Discrete State Transition Systems on Continuous Space-Time: A Theoretical Model for Amorphous Computing

Abstract

This paper deals with a kind of hybrid system that is obtained by making cellular automata infinitely small. Each point on a continuous space is defined as a state transition system with a finite number of discrete states that changes its state according to its previous state and the states of its neighbors. Time is also defined as continuous, so that state transitions may propagate through the space continuously over time. Discrete state transitions can be made instantaneously, as in the case of ordinary hybrid systems. It turned out that even defining the global behaviors that satisfy local transition rules is not trivial. The framework that we propose here can be regarded as a framework for amorphous computing.