Self-Adaptation and Self-Healing Behaviors Via a Dynamic Distribution Process

Self-organized distribution of shared resources is a common process in both natural and artificial systems. Examples range from the distribution of nutrients or blood in plants or animals, through traffic systems, to distribution of electricity and information in human societies. In this paper, we investigate a mechanism of collective resource distribution, in relation to morphological organization of the agents that carry out the process, demonstrating capabilities of self-adaptation and self-healing of the morphology. The mechanism is abstracted in an algorithm, called Vascular Morphogenesis Controller (VMC), implementing the dynamics of vascular systems of plants, responsible for the distribution of shared resources and morphogenesis. The algorithm is used here to direct the morphology of a growing structure in unimodal and multimodal environments. The results demonstrate how the morphology reflects environmental gradients, the ability of recovery after temporary or permanent damages, and self-adaptation to environmental changes.