Mimic automata: A novel formal model for mimic computing.

• We establish the first mathematical model for portraying inner behaviors and computational procedures of mimic computing. • We propose a novel type of automata called mimic automata, i.e., the new model mentioned above. • The formal semantic and expressive ability of the new automata is obtained. • In an application scene, this new model is employed to address a problem on systematic structures of mimic computers. In this paper, we aim to establish a mathematical model for mimic computing. To this end, we present a novel automaton called a mimic automaton. First, a one-dimensional cellular automaton is used for expressing some dynamic changes in the structure of a computing unit, a sequential automaton is employed to describe some state transitions, a hierarchical automaton is employed to express the different granularities of some computing units, and a probabilistic automaton is used to depict some random changes of a computing unit. Second, a mimic automaton is obtained by combining the various types of automata mentioned above in a certain logical relationship. Compared with the existing models of mimic computing, the new model portrays the operational semantics for a mimic computing system, and it can directly describe the behaviors of a system. Furthermore, the new model possesses a stronger generality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]