Is it possible to "guide" the process of self-organisation towards specific patterns and outcomes?Wouldn t this be self-contradictory?After all, a self-organising process assumes a transition into a more organised form, or towards a more structured functionality, in the "absence" of centralised control.Then how can we place the guiding elements so that they do not override rich choices potentially discoverable by an uncontrolled process?

This book presents different approaches to resolving this "paradox."In doing so, the presented studies address a broad range of phenomena, ranging from autopoietic systems to morphological computation, and from small-world networks to information cascades in swarms.A large variety of methods is employed, from spontaneous symmetry breaking to information dynamics to evolutionary algorithms, creating a rich spectrum reflecting this emerging field.

Demonstrating several foundational theories and frameworks, as well as innovative practical implementations, "Guided Self-Organisation: Inception," will be an invaluable tool for advanced students and researchers in a multiplicity of fields across computer science, physics and biology, including information theory, robotics, dynamical systems, graph theory, artificial life, multi-agent systems, theory of computation and machine learning.

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How do we design a self-organizing system? Is it possible to validate and control non-deterministic dynamics? What is the right balance between the emergent patterns that bring robustness, adaptability and scalability, and the traditional need for verification and validation of the outcomes? The last several decades have seen much progress from original ideas of "emergent functionality" and "design for emergence", to sophisticated mathematical formalisms of "guided self-organization". And yet the main challenge remains, attracting the best scientific and engineering expertise to this elusive problem. This book presents state-of-the-practice of successfully engineered self-organizing systems, and examines ways to balance design and self-organization in the context of applications. As demonstrated in this second edition of Advances in Applied Self-Organizing Systems, finding this balance helps to deal with practical challenges as diverse as navigation of microscopic robots within blood vessels, self-monitoring aerospace vehicles, collective and modular robotics adapted for autonomous reconnaissance and surveillance, self-managing grids and multiprocessor scheduling, data visualization and self-modifying digital and analog circuitry, intrusion detection in computer networks, reconstruction of hydro-physical fields, traffic management, immunocomputing and nature-inspired computation. Many algorithms proposed and discussed in this volume are biologically inspired, and the reader will also gain an insight into cellular automata, genetic algorithms, artificial immune systems, snake-like locomotion, ant foraging, birds flocking, neuromorphic circuits, amongst others. Demonstrating the practical relevance and applicability of self-organization, Advances in Applied Self-Organizing Systems will be an invaluable tool for advanced students and researchers in a wide range of fields.

Is it possible to guide the process of self-organisation towards specific patterns and outcomes? Wouldn’t this be self-contradictory? After all, a self-organising process assumes a transition into a more organised form, or towards a more structured functionality, in the absence of centralised control. Then how can we place the guiding elements so that they do not override rich choices potentially discoverable by an uncontrolled process? This book presents different approaches to resolving this paradox. In doing so, the presented studies address a broad range of phenomena, ranging from autopoietic systems to morphological computation, and from small-world networks to information cascades in swarms. A large variety of methods is employed, from spontaneous symmetry breaking to information dynamics to evolutionary algorithms, creating a rich spectrum reflecting this emerging field. Demonstrating several foundational theories and frameworks, as well as innovative practical implementations, Guided Self-Organisation: Inception, will be an invaluable tool for advanced students and researchers in a multiplicity of fields across computer science, physics and biology, including information theory, robotics, dynamical systems, graph theory, artificial life, multi-agent systems, theory of computation and machine learning.

How do we design a self-organizing system? Is it possible to validate and control non-deterministic dynamics? What is the right balance between the emergent patterns that bring robustness, adaptability and scalability, and the traditional need for verification and validation of the outcomes? The last several decades have seen much progress from original ideas of "emergent functionality" and "design for emergence", to sophisticated mathematical formalisms of "guided self-organization". And yet the main challenge remains, attracting the best scientific and engineering expertise to this elusive problem. This book presents state-of-the-practice of successfully engineered self-organizing systems, and examines ways to balance design and self-organization in the context of applications. As demonstrated in this second edition of Advances in Applied Self-Organizing Systems, finding this balance helps to deal with practical challenges as diverse as navigation of microscopic robots within blood vessels, self-monitoring aerospace vehicles, collective and modular robotics adapted for autonomous reconnaissance and surveillance, self-managing grids and multiprocessor scheduling, data visualization and self-modifying digital and analog circuitry, intrusion detection in computer networks, reconstruction of hydro-physical fields, traffic management, immunocomputing and nature-inspired computation. Many algorithms proposed and discussed in this volume are biologically inspired, and the reader will also gain an insight into cellular automata, genetic algorithms, artificial immune systems, snake-like locomotion, ant foraging, birds flocking, neuromorphic circuits, amongst others. Demonstrating the practical relevance and applicability of self-organization, Advances in Applied Self-Organizing Systems will be an invaluable tool for advanced students and researchers in a wide range of fields.