Configurable cellular automata for pseudorandom number generation

Marie Therese Quieta*, Sheng Uei Guan

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper proposes a generalized structure of cellular automata (CA) - the configurable cellular automata (CoCA). With selected properties from programmable CA (PCA) and controllable CA (CCA), a new approach to cellular automata, is developed. In CoCA, the cells are dynamically reconfigured at run-time via a control CA. Reconfiguration of a cell simply means varying the properties of that cell with time. Some examples of properties to be reconfigured are rule selection, boundary condition, and radius. While the objective of this paper is to propose CoCA as a new CA method, the main focus is to design a CoCA that can function as a good pseudorandom number generator (PRNG). As a PRNG, CoCA can be a suitable candidate as it can pass 17 out of 18 Diehard tests with 31 cells. CoCA PRNG's performance based on Diehard test is considered superior over other CA PRNG works. Moreover, CoCA opens new rooms for research not only in the field of random number generation, but in modeling complex systems as well.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1051-1073
Number of pages23
JournalInternational Journal of Modern Physics C
Volume16
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2005
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Cellular automata
  • Configurable cellular automata
  • Random number generation

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