Survival: Finding a Path For Success

In a discussion Oct-27, 2010 introduced Vassili Hiller and Marcus Pfaff the idea to solve the problem of feedback by looking to the sequence of actions as that compound unit which leads from a 'start' to a 'goal'. In that case all actions between start and goal have to be 'weighted'. Translating this idea into the context of our model world of world1 with some ANIMAT$^{n}$ (with $n > 1$) (cf. 4.8) we have to define the terms start and goal.

Figure 4.8: Case Study World1

For this we have to assume, that an agent system S represents at every point of time a state $q_{i} \in Q$. Thus one can write the process of an agent system S as a sequence of states $\pi = \langle q_{0}, q_{1}, ...\rangle$. A start is then every state $q$ with parameter $\delta \in Real \& \delta > \theta \& \delta \in q$ and the 'predecessor' of $q$ in $\pi$ has the parameter $\delta^{*} < \theta$. Similarly one can define a goal as that state $q$ with parameter $\delta \in Real \& \delta > \theta \& \delta \in q$ and the 'successor' of $q$ in $\pi$ has the parameter $\delta^{*} < \delta$. Thus while the raise of the drive triggers the 'start' does a lowering of the drive only mark a minimal success. A start-state followed by a finite sequence of states not being a goal-state and then a goal-state is called a successful behavior. Every successful behavior is 'part' of the overall agent process $\pi$. Every partial process with a start state but no goal state is an unsuccessful behavior.

In the agent system ANIMAT$^{2}$ we assume the following dependency between the drive $\delta_{1}$ and the energy $E$ of the whole system:

$$ENERGY E < \theta_{e} THEN DRIVE \delta > \theta_{d}$$ (4.109)

$$ELSE \delta \leq \theta_{d}$$ (4.110)

$$FOOD F > \theta_{f} THEN E = E + INCR$$ (4.111)