A Morphogenetic Program for Path Formation by Continuous Flocking
Bruce J. Maclennan
Artificial morphogenesis uses processes inspired by embryology to control massive swarms of microscopic agents to assemble complex physical structures, but this requires new means for describing these processes. Here we use an example morphogenetic program to illustrate a prototype implementation of morphgen, a morphogenetic programming language. The syntax and semantics are described informally and illustrated by the example program, which is included in its entirety in an appendix. Another appendix includes a complete formal grammar for the current version of the language. Next, we describe the results of a series of experiments with the program, which simulates a continuous swarm of microscopic agents creating paths from an origin to a destination while avoiding obstacles. We present the effects of various parameters and of alternative ways of accomplishing particular purposes.
Keywords: Artificial morphogenesis, continuous flocking, morphgen, morphogenetic engineering, swarm robotics