The concept of emergent behavior is difficult to define, but can be considered as higher-level activity created by the individual actions of a population of simple agents. A potential means to model such behavior has been previously developed using Alfred North Whitehead's concept of Actual Entities. In computational form, actual entities are agents which evolve over time in response to interactions with their environment via the process of prehension. This occurs within the context of a Colony of Prehending Entities, a framework for implementation of AE concepts. This thesis explores the practical application of this framework in analysis of medical images, with specific focus on Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans. Specialized Slice COPEs are developed for analysis of individual image slices from these scans, focusing on the detection and segmentation of structures of interest (such as bone matter, ventricular tissue, and tumors). These structures exist in 3D and can be extracted across multiple consecutive scan slices. Therefore, a specialized Scan COPE is also proposed which aims to render the structure's volume via interpolation between previously analyzed slice images. The software developed for the specified application also provides visualization of a COPE's evolution toward its goal. This has additional value in general study of the COPE framework and the emergent behavior it generates.

The focus of this thesis is on Actual Entities, a concept created by the philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, and how the concept can be applied to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles as a behavioral control method. Actual Entities are vector based, atomic units that use a method called prehension to observe their environment and react with various actions. When combining multiple Actual Entities a Colony of Prehending Entities is created; when observing their prehensions an intelligent behavior emerges. By applying the characteristics of Actual Entities to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, specifically in a situation where they are searching for targets, this emergent, intelligent behavior can be seen as they search a designated area and locate specified targets. They will alter their movements based on the prehensions of the environment, surrounding Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, and targets.