Affine automata and related techniques for generation of complex images

Abstract In this paper, we introduce probabilistic affine automata (PAA), which are probabilistic finite generators having transitions labeled with affine transformations. It is shown that PAA are capable of generating highly complex images. Barnsley's (1988) IFS method to generate fractals is a special case of PAA when the automaton happens to have only a single state. A number of theoretical results on PAA are shown. The relationship between PAA, mutually recursive function systems (MRFS) and affine regular sets is investigated.