BIC: Programmable Myriads: self-assembling cellular robots, inspired by tissue morphogenesis

本提案的目标是开发新的自组装计算范式，灵感来自于活细胞在组织形态发生过程中如何自组装高度图案但自适应的三维（3D）结构。我们将把这些范例应用到需要分散协调和结构形成的人造系统中——例如，对机器人群进行编程，这些机器人群可以组装临时脚手架、空间外壳和物理分配网络，这些可能在未来用于各种建筑和工业应用。我们还将应用这些模型直接研究组织形态发生-例如，研究局部机械和化学线索如何导致内皮细胞组织形态的全局适应甚至形态转换。通过这一努力，我们的目标是更好地理解遗传信息和环境线索如何在代理（“细胞”）水平上结合，以产生在整个系统水平上表现出优化形式和功能的结构。

The goal of this proposal is to develop new computational paradigms for self-assembly, inspired by how living cells self-assemble highly patterned but adaptive three-dimensional (3D) structures during tissue morphogenesis. We will apply these paradigms to engineer man-made systems that require decentralized coordination and structure formation - for example, programming swarms of robots that assemble temporary scaffolds, space enclosures, and physical distribution networks that may be used for various construction and industrial applications in the future. We will also apply these models to directly study tissue morphogenesis - for example, to investigate how local mechanical and chemical cues can cause global adaptation of tissue morphology and even switching of morphology in endothelial cells. Through this effort, we aim to better understand how genetic information and environmental cues combine at the agent ("cell") level, to generate structures that exhibit optimized form and function at the whole-system level.