Organic computing

TLDR

Organic Computing is a nascent research field that studies how bottom‑up emergence can generate order from randomness, contrasting with traditional top‑down design approaches. The paper aims to introduce Organic Computing, discuss its guiding visions, propose Observer/Controller architectures to reconcile emergence with control, and outline current research problems. The authors propose Observer/Controller architectures that enable controlled emergence.

Abstract

This paper gives an introduction to the new research area of Organic Computing and shows chances, opportunities and problems currently tackled by researchers. First the visions that lead to this new research area are discussed briefly. It is shown that the notion of emergence, a central phenomenon in Organic Compting, is a typical bottom-up effect with the interesting property of generating order from randomness. The classical design, however, is a top-down process. This apparent contradiction can be overcome by introducing so-called Observer/Controller architectures leading to the possibility to controlled emergence. The paper concludes with a description of current research problems in Organic Computing.