Deeply rooted in fundamental research in Mathematics and Computer Science, Cellular Automata (CA) are recognized as an intuitive modeling paradigm for Complex Systems. Already very basic CA, with extremely simple micro dynamics such as the Game of Life, show an almost endless display of complex emergent behavior. Conversely, CA can also be designed to produce a desired emergent behavior, using either theoretical methodologies or evolutionary techniques. Meanwhile, beyond the original realm of applications - Physics, Computer Science, and Mathematics – CA have also become work horses in very different disciplines such as epidemiology, immunology, sociology, and finance. In this context of fast and impressive progress, spurred further by the enormous attraction these topics have on students, this book emerges as a welcome overview of the field for its practitioners, as well as a good starting point for detailed study on the graduate and post-graduate level. The book contains three parts, two major parts on theory and applications, and a smaller part on software. The theory part contains fundamental chapters on how to design and/or apply CA for many different areas. In the applications part a number of representative examples of really using CA in a broad range of disciplines is provided - this part will give the reader a good idea of the real strength of this kind of modeling as well as the incentive to apply CA in their own field of study. Finally, we included a smaller section on software, to highlight the important work that has been done to create high quality problem solving environments that allow to quickly and relatively easily implement a CA model and run simulations, both on the desktop and if needed, on High Performance Computing infrastructures.

Deeply rooted in fundamental research in Mathematics and Computer Science, Cellular Automata (CA) are recognized as an intuitive modeling paradigm for Complex Systems. Already very basic CA, with extremely simple micro dynamics such as the Game of Life, show an almost endless display of complex emergent behavior. Conversely, CA can also be designed to produce a desired emergent behavior, using either theoretical methodologies or evolutionary techniques. Meanwhile, beyond the original realm of applications - Physics, Computer Science, and Mathematics – CA have also become work horses in very different disciplines such as epidemiology, immunology, sociology, and finance. In this context of fast and impressive progress, spurred further by the enormous attraction these topics have on students, this book emerges as a welcome overview of the field for its practitioners, as well as a good starting point for detailed study on the graduate and post-graduate level. The book contains three parts, two major parts on theory and applications, and a smaller part on software. The theory part contains fundamental chapters on how to design and/or apply CA for many different areas. In the applications part a number of representative examples of really using CA in a broad range of disciplines is provided - this part will give the reader a good idea of the real strength of this kind of modeling as well as the incentive to apply CA in their own field of study. Finally, we included a smaller section on software, to highlight the important work that has been done to create high quality problem solving environments that allow to quickly and relatively easily implement a CA model and run simulations, both on the desktop and if needed, on High Performance Computing infrastructures.

Providing a comprehensive overview of the modeling of complex systems, with particular emphasis on the collective aspects of these systems, this book situates itself at the forefront of available literature. Exemplifying practically Wolfram’s theses found in A New Kind of Science, discussions center on where it is best to use a cellular automaton, when it is reasonable to use a hybrid approach, and when it is best to use a traditional method such as one based on differential equations. A range of fascinating examples are discussed, ranging from models of crowd dynamics, car traffic, downhill skiers and oil spreading across the sea surface. All are discussed and illustrated with comments. These examples explore how simple rules can create incredibly complex patterns and are used to compare cellular automata with more traditional methods. This book is of critical importance to students and lecturers interested in complex system modeling as well as containing translatable techniques that have applications in a wide range of fields

"The theme of this book is the use of Cellular Automatas (CAs) to model biological systems, describing 2-D CAs to create populations of "life-like agents" with their own genomes"--Provided by publisher.

The volume LNCS 8155 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 19th International Workshop on Cellular Automata and Discrete Complex Systems, AUTOMATA 2013, held in Giessen, Germany, in September 2013. The 8 papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 26 submissions. The scope of the workshop spans the following areas the theoretical and practical aspects of a permanent, international, multidisciplinary forum for the collaboration of researchers in the field of Cellular Automata (CA) and Discrete Complex Systems (DCS), to provide a platform for presenting and discussing new ideas and results, to support the development of theory and applications of CA and DCS (e.g. parallel computing, physics, biology, social sciences, and others) as long as fundamental aspects and their relations are concerned, to identify and study within an inter- and multidisciplinary context, the important fundamental aspects, concepts, notions and problems concerning CA and DCS.

This fascinating, colourful book offers in-depth insights and first-hand working experiences in the production of art works, using simple computational models with rich morphological behaviour, at the edge of mathematics, computer science, physics and biology. It organically combines ground breaking scientific discoveries in the theory of computation and complex systems with artistic representations of the research results. In this appealing book mathematicians, computer scientists, physicists, and engineers brought together marvelous and esoteric patterns generated by cellular automata, which are arrays of simple machines with complex behavior. Configurations produced by cellular automata uncover mechanics of dynamic patterns formation, their propagation and interaction in natural systems: heart pacemaker, bacterial membrane proteins, chemical rectors, water permeation in soil, compressed gas, cell division, population dynamics, reaction-diffusion media and self-organisation. The book inspires artists to take on cellular automata as a tool of creativity and it persuades scientists to convert their research results into the works of art. The book is lavishly illustrated with visually attractive examples, presented in a lively and easily accessible manner.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Parallel Computing Technologies, PaCT 2011, held in Kazan, Russia on September 19-23, 2011. The 44 full papers presented together with 2 invited papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 68 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on models and languages, cellular automata, parallel programming tools and support, and applications.

Cellular automata make up a class of completely discrete dynamical systems, which have became a core subject in the sciences of complexity due to their conceptual simplicity, easiness of implementation for computer simulation, and their ability to exhibit a wide variety of amazingly complex behavior. The feature of simplicity behind complexity of cellular automata has attracted the researchers' attention from a wide range of divergent fields of study of science, which extend from the exact disciplines of mathematical physics up to the social ones, and beyond. Numerous complex systems containing many discrete elements with local interactions have been and are being conveniently modelled as cellular automata. In this book, the versatility of cellular automata as models for a wide diversity of complex systems is underlined through the study of a number of outstanding problems using these innovative techniques for modelling and simulation.

In the last decade there has been a phenomenal growth in interest in crime pattern analysis. Geographic information systems are now widely used in urban police agencies throughout industrial nations. With this, scholarly interest in understanding crime patterns has grown considerably. Artificial Crime Analysis Systems: Using Computer Simulations and Geographic Information Systems discusses leading research on the use of computer simulation of crime patterns to reveal hidden processes of urban crimes, taking an interdisciplinary approach by combining criminology, computer simulation, and geographic information systems into one comprehensive resource.

Providing a comprehensive overview of the modelling of complex systems, with particular emphasis on the collective aspects of these systems Particularly focuses on Wolfram's theses found in 'A New Kind of Science', exploring where it is best to use a cellular automaton and when it is best to use a traditional method such as one based on differential equations Discussions draw on a range of fascinating examples, including crowd dynamics, car traffic, downhill skiers and oil spreading across the sea surface