Von Neumann’s

Automaton and Viruses

Most slides taken from

Weizmann Institute of Science and
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
 The General Question

What kind of logical organization is

sufficient for an automaton to control
itself in such a manner that it
reproduces itself?
Von Neumann Neighborhood

2 State of the cell at time t+1

is calculable from its state and its
3 1 5
four non-diagonal neighboring cells
4 at time t.
States in Von Neumann Automaton
0 unexcited
unexcited
unexcited
unexcited
unexcited
excited
unexcited 0 unexcited
unexcited
excited
unexcited
excited 0 unexcited
unexcited
excited
unexcited 0
unexcited
unexcited
unexcited
unexcited
excited 0 unexcited
unexcited
unexcited
unexcited
excited
unexcited 0
unexcited
unexcited
unexcited
excited

signal 1
0 1
0 1
0 1
0 1
0 1
0 1
0

t+1
t+2
t+7
t+8
t+3
t+4
t+5
t+6
t

• Each cell is capable of 29 different states.

• Each state is excited or unexcited.
• Movement of data on the cellular lattice is determined
by the changes of unexcited and excited states in cell.
• Cells change at discrete times according to the
transition rule.
Ordinary Transmission States
4 unexcited states 4 excited states

signal
 Quiescent State
cell in the ordinary cell in the

transmission state quiescent state

signal

Cells in the quiescent state U

have to be excited with more
than one signal directed to them.
 Confluent States
C XY
X s p e c ifyin g th e c u rre n t s ta te
Y th e n e xt s ta te

C 00 C 01 C 10 C 11
u n e x c ite d s ta te e x c ite d s ta te e x c ite d s ta te e x c ite d s ta te

0 C00 0 C00
C00 1
0 C10 1

C01 1 C01
0 C10
C11 1

C11
 C00
C and C
10 01
C00
0 0 C00
1
0 C10 1

C01 1 C01
C00
0 C10
C11
C01 1

t C10 C11
t+1 C00
t+2
t+3

Cell in confluent state directs signal to the

neighboring cells not pointing to it.
C 00
A not excited cell at the
input of a confluent cell

C00
t C00
t+1 C00
t+2 C00
t+3

All of the cells in ordinary transmission states

pointing to cell in confluent state have to be
excited.
 0 C00 C00
C
0
11 C00 1
0 C10 1

C01 1 C01
0 C10
C11 1
C01 C11
t C11
t+1 C10
Two dots
t+2 C00
t+3
inside

The number of dots in = the number of dots out

 Pulser
A pulser P(i1, i2 ,…, in) is used to encode a
sequence of signals so that a single excited signal
entering the input cell will produce the sequence i1,
i2 ,…, in at the output cell.
output
at time t+ through t+ +n

input
at time t
 Pulser(10101)

110
C0110

excited signal C1001 C0110 C1001

tt+8
t+12t+5
t+7
t+4
t+3
t+14
t+11
t+10
t+13
t+9
t+2+1
t+6
 Decoder(1x1x1)
A decoder produces a single signal if the sequence
it receives has signals in specified positions.
C10
01 C10
01 C10
01 1

excited signal C10

01
01
10 C10
01 C10
01

t+1
t+2
t+3
t+4
t+5
t+6
t+7
t+8
t+9
t
t+10
t+11
t+12
t+13
t+14
t+16
t+15
t+17
t+18
t+19
 Repeater
Repeater repeats the sequence of signals until
it is turned off.

signal C10
01
1

destruction process
construction process
 Special Transmission States
4 unexcited states 4 excited states

They are similar in operation to ordinary

transmission states, but they convert
confluent states to quiescent state.
Special transmission states are denoted
by double arrow notation
 The Destruction Process
The destruction process transforms unexcited
and excited states into the quiescent state in
single step.

C10

t t+1
 Sensitive States
S

S0 S0 S1 S 00 S 01 S 11 S 000

They are intermediary states converting quiescent state

into one of the 9 unexcited states

C00
 The Sensitized Tree

0
1
S000
0 1

S00
0 0

S0 1 S01
1

0 0
1 1
U S0 0
S10
quiescent state 1
S1 0
1
S11
C00
1
 The Construction Process

S0
t S1
t+1
t+2

S10
S100
t+3
t+4
t+5
 0
S 00 1
0 10
S 0
0 0
1 S0
0
1
S0 1
0 0
U
1
S0 S11
0 0
quiescent state 1
S1
1 S1 0
1
1 C0
S0 S1 0

t t+1 t+2

S10 S100

t+3 t+4 t+5

 Periodic Pulser

signal C C C C C C
P(11111)
SC
S 10
111
11
0
1

C
P(10101) Repeater

signal C C C
 Coded Channel

D=decoder
P=pulser
Transition And Output Table
 Automaton

o0=s0, etc
 Finite
Automaton
Constructing Arm
Horizontal Advance
Horizontal Advance of Constructing Arm
Vertical Advance of Constructing Arm
Horizontal Retreat of Constructing Arm
Vertical Retreat of Constructing Arm
Injection of Starting Stimulus
Reading Loop
Constructing Arm
Universal Computer
Universal Constructor
Automata Self-reproduction
Automata Self-reproduction
Automata Self-reproduction
Cellular Automata vs Viruses

Cellular Artificial Life

 Virus: Definition
• A simple computer program that attaches itself
to a legitimate executable program, and
reproduces itself when the program is run.
• Trojan Horse: no self-replication
• Worm: infects through security hole, then self-
replicates through idle memory
 Virus Types
• Boot sector viruses
– Infects boot sector on diskette
– Replaces it with replicated copy of virus
– Hides in memory, infects all new disks
• Executable Viruses
– Resident, direct action or a combination
– Resident remains in memory and attacks every
program run
– Direct action may search for a new file to infect
 Virus Categories
• Parasitic: spread on program execution through
storage and transmission medium
• Multipartite: infects both boot sector and
executables
• Stealth: hidden in memory to infect or redirect
interrupts
• Polymorphic: uses encryption to change
signature for each replica
• Dropper: places boot sector infector on disk
 Computer vs. Biology
• String of genetic material vs. instruction set
• Neither capable of self-replication outside of a
host
• Takes over cell and uses it to spread virus
• Unexpected and uncontrollable replication
makes viruses (of either type) dangerous
 Virus vs. Alife
• Patterns in space-time
• Self reproduction
• Information storage of self representation
• Metabolism
• Functional interaction with environment
• Interdependence of parts
• Stability under perturbations
• Growth
• Evolution < major flaw in theory
 References
• J. Beuchat, J. Haenni, Von Neumann’s 29-State
Cellular Automaton: A Hardware Implementation,
IEEE Transactions On Education, Vol. 43, No. 3,
2000.
• A.W.Burks, Von Neumann Self-Reproducing
Automata, Essay 1 from Essays on Cellular
Automata.
• J.Signorini, How a SIMD machine can implement a
complex cellular automaton? A case study: von
Neumann’s 29-state cellular automaton, IEEE Proc.
Supercomput.,1989.