One of our Research Challenges is ‘obtaining a working set of growth rules.’ To date the most striking research discovery and that which has informed our growth rules, has been understanding plant development.
Hormonal control of plant development, by the hormone auxin has allowed us to develop growth rules during organism development in the Blind Watchmaker using our own hormone!
The idea of branching as a response to a stimulus has been proposed and, combined with our knowledge of the mechanism of hormonal responses in nature, we can proceed with a control mechanism for budding during organism development in the Blind Watchmaker.
The budding process
Step 1: Create buds
Taking inspiration once again from nature’s laws, ‘bud’ cells are deposited at locations during primary growth making them available when required.
Step 2: Trigger budding
Using the theory behind tropism, if we perceive a stimulus in the environment, we read that signal and respond accordingly.
Step 3: Grow the bud
Create a growth vector and grow towards the stimulus.
Figure 1 Budding Mechanism
Questions to be answered
- At what angle do we bud and grow?
- Is this angle pre-set or does it change throughout development?