Composable Cellular Automata

Abstract

Cellular automata (CA) provide a convenient approach to modeling a system comprised of homogeneous entities that, generally, have a spatial relationship with one another. CA are used to model systems that can be appropriately represented as a collection of interconnected automata. These networked automata may act as either a model representation of the entire system, or used to model a sub-system within a hybrid system. As the sub-systems within a hybrid system are disparate, so too can the models representing them be disparate using a multi-model approach. However, to take advantage of multi-modeling, CA and other models used to represent the sub-systems must be founded on system-theoretical principles. Furthermore, each model’s formalism must account for input and output data exchange with other modeling formalisms. Therefore, to support modular synthesis of distinct CA models with non-CA models, a composable cellular automata (CCA) formalism is proposed. This formalism is provided as a domain-neutral, mathematical specification. The CCA is then exemplified as part of a multi-model, and the GRASS development environment is used to describe one possible implementation approach.