Distributed Computing Theory for Molecular Robot Systems

Distributed computation consists of local computations and their interactions. We consider a molecular robot system as a distributed system composed of mobile computing entities with very weak capabilities, i.e., computing entities are anonymous (indistinguishable), oblivious (memory-less), and uniform (following a common local computation rule). The key property of such a distributed system is self-organization. In this survey, we first introduce shape formation by mobile computing entities and present characterizations of formable shapes. We then consider global behavior realized by shapes of a distributed system. We demonstrate general computational power of mobile computing entities in terms of computing languages and predicates. Finally, we demonstrate dynamic behavior, such as locomotion and search, realized by a sequence of shapes.