A SELF-RECOVERING COMMUNICATION BUFFER BASED ON THE CONCEPT OF CELLULAR-AUTOMATON

This paper presents a self-recovering buffer memory for communication systems based on the concept of cellular automaton. The model proposed is a FIFO-type (First-in, First-out-type) memory which meets the cond itions for a communication buffer and incorporates the principles of c ellular automation. By binding together a number of cells which can pe rform basic FIFO operations, it is found that each cell is capable of determining whether or not it is holding the first valid data in a que ue based on information about its own status and its neighboring cell. It also is observed that this model possesses a capacity for self rec overy which always enables the buffer to return to a normal state in t he event of an internal transient fault. Furthermore, by representing each cell with a sequential circuit, this buffer memory is prototyped with a gate array and its applicability is verified comparing it with existing FIFO design methods.