Advances In Physarum Machines

This book is devoted to Slime mould Physarum polycephalum, which is a large single cell capable for distributed sensing, concurrent information processing, parallel computation and decentralized actuation. The ease of culturing and experimenting with Physarum makes this slime mould an ideal substrate for real-world implementations of unconventional sensing and computing devices The book is a treatise of theoretical and experimental laboratory studies on sensing and computing properties of slime mould, and on the development of mathematical and logical theories of Physarum behavior. It is shown how to make logical gates and circuits, electronic devices (memristors, diodes, transistors, wires, chemical and tactile sensors) with the slime mould. The book demonstrates how to modify properties of Physarum computing circuits with functional nano-particles and polymers, to interface the slime mould with field-programmable arrays, and to use Physarum as a controller of microbial fuel cells. A unique multi-agent model of slime is shown to serve well as a software slime mould capable for solving problems of computational geometry and graph optimization. The multiagent model is complemented by cellular automata models with parallel accelerations. Presented mathematical models inspired by Physarum include non-quantum implementation of Shor's factorization, structural learning, computation of shortest path tree on dynamic graphs, supply chain network design, p-adic computing and syllogistic reasoning. The book is a unique composition of vibrant and lavishly illustrated essays which will inspire scientists, engineers and artists to exploit natural phenomena in designs of future and emergent computing and sensing devices. It is a 'bible' of experimental computing with spatially extended living substrates, it spanstopics from biology of slime mould, to bio-sensing, to unconventional computing devices and robotics, non-classical logics and music and arts.

The unconventional computing is a niche for interdisciplinary science, cross-bred of computer science, physics, mathematics, chemistry, electronic engineering, biology, material science and nanotechnology. The aims of this book are to uncover and exploit principles and mechanisms of information processing in and functional properties of physical, chemical and living systems to develop efficient algorithms, design optimal architectures and manufacture working prototypes of future and emergent computing devices. This second volume presents experimental laboratory prototypes and applied computing implementations. Emergent molecular computing is presented by enzymatic logical gates and circuits, and DNA nano-devices. Reaction-diffusion chemical computing is exemplified by logical circuits in Belousov-Zhabotinsky medium and geometrical computation in precipitating chemical reactions. Logical circuits realised with solitons and impulses in polymer chains show advances in collision-based computing. Photo-chemical and memristive devices give us a glimpse on hot topics of a novel hardware. Practical computing is represented by algorithms of collective and immune-computing and nature-inspired optimisation. Living computing devices are implemented in real and simulated cells, regenerating organisms, plant roots and slime mould. The book is the encyclopedia, the first ever complete authoritative account, of the theoretical and experimental findings in the unconventional computing written by the world leaders in the field. All chapters are self-contains, no specialist background is required to appreciate ideas, findings, constructs and designs presented. This treatise in unconventional computing appeals to readers from all walks of life, from high-school pupils to university professors, from mathematicians, computers scientists and engineers to chemists and biologists.

A Physarum machine is a programmable amorphous biological computer experimentally implemented in the vegetative state of true slime mould Physarum polycephalum. It comprises an amorphous yellowish mass with networks of protoplasmic veins, programmed by spatial configurations of attracting and repelling gradients. This book demonstrates how to create experimental Physarum machines for computational geometry and optimization, distributed manipulation and transportation, and general-purpose computation. Being very cheap to make and easy to maintain, the machine also functions on a wide range of substrates and in a broad scope of environmental conditions. As such a Physarum machine is a 'green' and environmentally friendly unconventional computer. The book is readily accessible to a nonprofessional reader, and is a priceless source of experimental tips and inventive theoretical ideas for anyone who is inspired by novel and emerging non-silicon computers and robots. An account on Physarum Machines can be viewed at http: //www.youtube.com/user/PhysarumMachines.

This book presents fundamental theoretical results for designing object-oriented programming languages for controlling swarms. It studies the logics of swarm behaviours. According to behaviourism, all behaviours can be controlled or even managed by stimuli in the environment: attractants (motivational reinforcement) and repellents (motivational punishment). At the same time, there are two main stages in reactions to stimuli: sensing (perceiving signals) and motoring (appropriate direct reactions to signals). This book examines the strict limits of behaviourism from the point of view of symbolic logic and algebraic mathematics: how far can animal behaviours be controlled by the topology of stimuli? On the one hand, we can try to design reversible logic gates in which the number of inputs is the same as the number of outputs. In this case, the behaviouristic stimuli are inputs in swarm computing and appropriate reactions at the motoring stage are its outputs. On the other hand, the problem is that even at the sensing stage each unicellular organism can be regarded as a logic gate in which the number of outputs (means of perceiving signals) greatly exceeds the number of inputs (signals).

Insights into the intelligence throughout the natural and technical environment, in the fabric of our devices and dwellings, in our clothes, and under our skin. Is there a way to understand the materials that surround us not as passive objects, but as other intelligences interacting with our own? In Parallel Minds, expert in materials science and nanotechnology Laura Tripaldi delivers not only detailed insights into the properties and emergent behaviors of matter as revealed by state-of-the-art chemistry, synthetic biology, and nanotech, but also a rich philosophical reflection that crosses the frontier between nature and culture, where the most cutting-edge scientific syntheses resonate with ancient myth. The result is a technomaterial bestiary full of unexpected encounters with “strange minds”—from cobwebs to kevlar and carbon fibre, from centaurs to amoebas to arachnids, from polycephalic slime to resonating plasmons, from viruses to golems. Parallel Minds reveals the intelligence at large throughout the natural and technical environment, in the fabric of our devices and dwellings, in our clothes, and even under our skin. Full of lateral ideas and unexpected images, Tripaldi’s book imbues the study and synthesis of materials with a new urgency. For not only do the materials that surround us participate actively in the construction of the world in which we live, but harnessing their ability to interact intelligently with their environment could be the key to the future of our species.

This unique book explores fungi as sensors, electronic devices, and potential future computers, offering eco-friendly alternatives to traditional electronics. Fungi are ancient, widely distributed organisms ranging from microscopic single cells to massive mycelium spanning hectares. They possess senses similar to humans, detecting light, chemicals, gases, gravity, and electric fields. It covers fungal electrical activity, sensors, electronics, computing prototypes, and fungal language. Authored by leading experts from diverse fields, the book is accessible to readers of all backgrounds, from high-schoolers to professors. It reveals the remarkable potential of fungal machines while minimizing environmental impact.

Single processing units have now reached a point where further major improvements in their performance are restricted by their physical limitations. This is causing a slowing down in advances at the same time as new scientific challenges are demanding exascale speed. This has meant that parallel processing has become key to High Performance Computing (HPC).This book contains the proceedings of the 14th biennial ParCo conference, ParCo2011, held in Ghent, Belgium. The ParCo conferences have traditionally concentrated on three main themes: Algorithms, Architectures and Applications. Nowadays though, the focus has shifted from traditional multiprocessor topologies to heterogeneous and manycores, incorporating standard CPUs, GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) and FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays). These platforms are, at a higher abstraction level, integrated in clusters, grids and clouds. The papers presented here reflect this change of focus. New architectures, programming tools and techniques are also explored, and the need for exascale hardware and software was also discussed in the industrial session of the conference.This book will be of interest to all those interested in parallel computing today, and progress towards the exascale computing of tomorrow.

This pioneering text/reference explores how innovative new modes of computation may provide exciting new directions for future developments in the music industry, guiding the reader through the latest research in this emerging, interdisciplinary field. This work includes coverage of electronic music compositions and performances that incorporate unconventional interfacing, hacking and circuit bending. Features: presents an introduction to unconventional computing in music; discusses initiatives involving biophysical electronic music, the work of self-styled silicon luthiers, and the intersection of music and quantum computing; introduces the memristor, a new electronic component with the potential to revolutionize how computers are built; reviews experiments and practical applications of biological memristors in music; describes IMUSIC, an unconventional tone-based programming language, which enables the programming of computers using musical phrases; includes review questions at the end of each chapter.