Cellular Automata From First Principles 45: Learn to Solve Mazes

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 20:38:00 +0100

A pathfinding NCA becomes interesting only when the training problem itself is disciplined.

If every maze has the same size, wall density and corridor style, the model may learn the dataset more than the algorithm.

So this chapter builds the training system around procedural variation.

Generate mazes as data

Start with binary occupancy:

0 = open
1 = wall

One simple generator begins with random walls and rejects disconnected examples.