2-Head 2D Returning Finite Automata

Abstract: We introduce and study a family of two-head finite automata called two head returning finite automata (2-HRFA) operating on rectangular arrays of picture languages, in which both heads move in opposite directions. We show that the class of picture languages accepted by 2-HRFA is incomparable with the class of languages generated by context-free matrix grammars (CFMG), while it forms a proper subset of the class of languages accepted by returning pushdown automata (RPDA). In addition, we define a constrained variant, both head stepping two head returning finite automata (B2-HRFA), in which both heads are required to move in a synchronized, stepwise fashion. We prove that the class of languages accepted by returning finite automata (RFA) is a proper subset of the class of languages accepted by B2-HRFA, which in turn is a proper subset of the class of languages accepted by 2-HRFA. Closure properties for both the families of languages accepted by 2-HRFA and B2-HRFA are also investigated.