Physarum Chip Project: Growing Computers From Slime Mould.

Abstract

Research in unconventional, or nature-inspired, computing aims to uncover novel principles of efficient information processing and computation in physical, chemical and biological systems, to develop novel non-standard algorithms and computing architectures, and also to implement conventional algorithms in non-silicon, or wet, substrates. This emerging field of science and engineering is predominantly occupied by theoretical research, e.g. quantum computation, membrane computing and dynamical systems computing. Despite the profound potential offered by unconventional computing, only a handful of experimental prototypes are reported so far, for example gasdischarge analog path finders; maze-solving micro-fluidic circuits; geometrically constrained universal chemical computers; specialized and universal chemical reaction--diffusion processors; universal extended analog computers; maze-solving chemo-tactic droplets; enzyme-based logical circuits; spatially extended crystallization computers for optimization and computational geometry; molecular logical gates and circuits.