Abstract:
Cell sorting is a fundamental phenomenon in morphogenesis, a process
that leads to shape formation in living organisms. The sorting of
heterotypic cell populations is produced by a variety of inter-cellular
actions, e.g. differential chemotactic response, adhesion, rigidity,
and motility. Via a process called chemotaxis, living cells respond to
chemicals released by other cells into the environment. Inspired by the
biological phenomena of chemotaxis and cell sorting in heterotypic cell
aggregates, we propose a chemotaxis-based algorithm that sorts
self-organizing heterotypic agents. In our algorithm, two types of agents
are initially randomly placed in a toroidal environment. Agents emit a
chemical signal and interact with nearby agents. Given the appropriate
parameters, the two kinds of agents self-organize into a complex aggregate
consisting of a single group of one type of agent surrounded by agents of
the second type. This paper describes the chemotaxis-based sorting
algorithm, the behaviors of our self-organizing heterotypic agents,
evaluation of the final aggregates and parametric studies of the algorithm.
