Abstract

Our ability to control emergent phenomena depends on decomposing them into aspects susceptible to independent engineering. The amorphous medium abstraction separates what behavior is desired on a continuous space and how the behavior is implemented on a sensor/actuator network approximating the space, while the Proto language provides a means of composing self-organizing primitives on an amorphous medium. We thus separate the engineering problem into three components: a discrete kernel to emulate an amorphous medium and distribute code, a compiler for Proto, and implementations of high-level coordination and homeostasis primitives, allowing simple and concise expression of programs controlling spatial behaviors. Programs written using our implementation of this framework have been verified in simulation on over ten thousand nodes, as well as on a network of Berkeley Motes. 1 Self-Managing Systems Engineering The study of self-organizing systems has now reached the tool-building phase, in which a new discipline of self-managing systems engineering can begin to emerge. The next step is to refine the principles of self-organization into a system of composable parts suitable for engineering—as the principles of electromagnetism are captured for electronic engineering in components

Citations