Definition of Self-Organizing Systems
Contents
Formal Definitions
Definition from Camazine et. al. 2003
In self-organizing systems, pattern formation occurs through interactions internal to the system, without intervention by external directing influences. from Scott Camazine, Jean-Louis Deneubourg, Nigel R. Franks, James Sneyd, Guy Theraulaz, Eric Bonabeau, "Self-organization in biological systems", Princeton, 2003, p.7
Definition from Research Days'08 (1)
A selforganizing system (SOS) is a system that uses simple local rules to achieve complex global behavior. Additional preconditions to this definition include:
- Multiple units/entities
- Communication among some of the entities
- Adaptive based on external measurements/events
- Observer
- No hard coded solutions by the designer
Definition from Research Days'08 (2)
A self-organizing system (SOS) is a set of entities that obtains global system behavior via local interactions without centralized control.
Definition from Research Days'08 (3)
A system shows self-organizing behavior if it is autonomous, adaptive, and its organization and function is an emergent property.
Definition by Farley and Clark of Lincoln Laboratory in 1954
A self-organizing system is a system that changes its basic structure as a function of its experience and environment.
Properties of SOS
Homogeneous vs. heterogeneous networks
A SOS does not necessarily have to contain homogeneous components (like a school of fish, where each fish has the same properties and behavior) but also system of specialized agents is possible (e.g., a soccer team with dedicated defenders, mid-fielders and strikers).
