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Von Neumann's System of Self-Replication Automata with the ability to evolve (Figure adapted from Luis Rocha's Lecture Notes at Binghamton University [6]).i) the self-replicating system is composed of several automata plus a separate description (an encoding formalized as a Turing 'tape') of all the automata: Universal Constructor (A), Universal Copier (B), operating system (C), extra ...
The general concept of artificial machines capable of producing copies of themselves dates back at least several hundred years. An early reference is an anecdote regarding the philosopher René Descartes, who suggested to Queen Christina of Sweden that the human body could be regarded as a machine; she responded by pointing to a clock and ordering "see to it that it reproduces offspring."
Self-replication is a fundamental feature of life. It was proposed that self-replication emerged in the evolution of life when a molecule similar to a double-stranded polynucleotide (possibly like RNA) dissociated into single-stranded polynucleotides and each of these acted as a template for synthesis of a complementary strand producing two double stranded copies. [4]
Their original purpose was to provide insight into the logical requirements for machine self-replication, and they were used in von Neumann's universal constructor. Nobili cellular automaton is a variation of von Neumann's cellular automaton, augmented with the ability for confluent cells to cross signals and store information.
Christopher Langton made another tweak to Codd's cellular automaton in 1984 to create Langton's loops, exhibiting self-replication with far fewer cells than that needed for self-reproduction in previous rules, at the cost of removing the ability for universal computation and construction. [4]
Automata theory is closely related to formal language theory. In this context, automata are used as finite representations of formal languages that may be infinite. Automata are often classified by the class of formal languages they can recognize, as in the Chomsky hierarchy, which describes a nesting relationship between major classes of automata.
Neumann wrote a paper entitled "The general and logical theory of automata" for the Hixon Symposium in 1948. [11] Ulam was the one who suggested using a discrete system for creating a reductionist model of self-replication. [8]: 3 [12]: xxix Ulam and von Neumann created a method for calculating liquid motion in the late 1950s. The driving ...
A quine's output is exactly the same as its source code. A quine is a computer program that takes no input and produces a copy of its own source code as its only output. The standard terms for these programs in the computability theory and computer science literature are "self-replicating programs", "self-reproducing programs", and "self-copying programs".