Programmability is a major challenge in spatial computing, anaggregate control problem found in domains such as sensor networks,swarm robotics, and modular robotics. We address this challenge witha model of a spatial ...

Long-lived sensor network applications must be able to self-repair and adapt to changing demands. We introduce a new approach for doing so: Constraint and Restoring Force. CRF is a physics-inspired framework for computing ...

A spatial computer is a collection of devices filling spacewhose ability to interact is strongly dependent on theirproximity. Previously, we have showed that programmingsuch a computer as a continuous space can allow ...

We present CRF-Gradient, a self-healing gradient algorithm that provably reconfigures in O(diameter) time. Self-healing gradients are a frequently used building block for distributed self-healing systems, but previous ...

Principles for Engineered EmergenceIt is difficult to establish engineering control over the behavior ofaggregates of unreliable devices with complicated interactionpatterns. I take a linguistic view of this problem, ...

In this thesis I present a language for instructing a sheet of identically-programmed, flexible, autonomous agents (``cells'') to assemble themselves into a predetermined global shape, using local interactions. The ...

In many sensor network applications, the network is deployedto approximate a physical space. The network itself is not ofinterest: rather, we are interested in measuring the propertiesof the space it fills, and of establishing ...

Many programming domains involve the manipulation of values distributed through a manifold - examples include sensor networks, smart materials, and biofilms. This paper describes a programming semantics for manifolds based ...