Setting the Stage: Complex Systems, Emergence and Evolution
13
problems like the travelling salesmen problem and network routing problems
for dynamic scenarios (Figure 1.6).
FIGURE 1.6: Various time steps showing ant colonies finding and forming
routes to food sources. cf. [23].
Biological systems like the human body are extensively studied as complex
systems. The study of NFκB molecule is an example of studying how transcription factors work in cells [149]. Apart from cells, foreign organisms like
bacteria, living in human bodies, have also been subject of much research,
where bacterial behavior is often studied in human stomachs to determine
how they survive in less oxygen levels [125].
Control Engineering
Control systems engineering involves design of robust applications functioning in real world conditions. Research in this area has grown to accommodate various aspects like [95]
• Regulating control of systems.
• Building large systems like bridges or computers.
• Dynamic environmental conditions.
• Optimization and distributing data over large systems.
Being treated as complex systems, systems control theory analyzes large
systems as collections of smaller units working together to produce the system
output. For instance, Figure 1.7 shows a system made of three interacting units
A, B and C. These units can be a capacitor, transistor or a memory chip,
working together in the system. The system output produces an effect that
brings change in system input at next time step. This becomes an important
feedback loop, allowing the system to adapt to changing conditions in the
environment (dynamic environments).
13
problems like the travelling salesmen problem and network routing problems
for dynamic scenarios (Figure 1.6).
FIGURE 1.6: Various time steps showing ant colonies finding and forming
routes to food sources. cf. [23].
Biological systems like the human body are extensively studied as complex
systems. The study of NFκB molecule is an example of studying how transcription factors work in cells [149]. Apart from cells, foreign organisms like
bacteria, living in human bodies, have also been subject of much research,
where bacterial behavior is often studied in human stomachs to determine
how they survive in less oxygen levels [125].
Control Engineering
Control systems engineering involves design of robust applications functioning in real world conditions. Research in this area has grown to accommodate various aspects like [95]
• Regulating control of systems.
• Building large systems like bridges or computers.
• Dynamic environmental conditions.
• Optimization and distributing data over large systems.
Being treated as complex systems, systems control theory analyzes large
systems as collections of smaller units working together to produce the system
output. For instance, Figure 1.7 shows a system made of three interacting units
A, B and C. These units can be a capacitor, transistor or a memory chip,
working together in the system. The system output produces an effect that
brings change in system input at next time step. This becomes an important
feedback loop, allowing the system to adapt to changing conditions in the
environment (dynamic environments).