The Experts below are selected from a list of 303 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Andrew Adamatzky - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Twenty five uses of Slime Mould in electronics and computing: Survey
International Journal of Unconventional Computing, 2020Co-Authors: Andrew AdamatzkyAbstract:Slime Mould Physarum polycephalum is a large single cell capable for distributed sensing, concurrent information processing, parallel computation and decentralised actuation. The ease of culturing and experimenting with Physarum makes this Slime Mould an ideal substrate for real-world implementations of unconventional computers. We provide a concise summary of what exact computing and sensing devices can be made from the Slime Mould. These devices range from morphological processors for computational geometry to self-routing wires and memristors.
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PhyChip: Growing Computers with Slime Mould
Natural Computing Series, 2018Co-Authors: Andrew Adamatzky, Jeff Jones, Richard Mayne, James G. H. Whiting, Victor Erokhin, Andrew Schumann, Stefano SiccardiAbstract:Slime Mould Physarum polycephalum is a large single cell capable of distributed sensing, concurrent information processing, parallel computation, and decentralised 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. In the last decade Physarum has become a popular inspiration for mathematical and algorithmic models and philosophical concepts of unconventional computing: give the Slime Mould a problem and it will solve it. We provide a concise summary of computing and sensing operations implemented with live Slime Mould and evaluate the feasibility of Slime Mould-based computing.
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majority gates and circular computation in Slime Mould
Artificial Life Conference Proceedings, 2018Co-Authors: Genaro J Martinez, Andrew Adamatzky, Richard Mayne, Fangyue Chen, Qinbin HeAbstract:Slime Mould has been proven to be a fruitful living substrate for implementing a wide range of computing circuits from computational geometry to collision-based logical circuits to robot control. It is apparent, however, that constructing working real-time universal processors from the Slime Mould is non-trivial task. We explore here similarities between development of Slime Mould protoplasmic tubes, transportation of cytoplasm inside the tubes and dynamics of propagating patterns in cellular automata. Based on these analogies we will propose computing devices realisable in the living Slime Mould.
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Slime Mould the fundamental mechanisms of biological cognition
BioSystems, 2018Co-Authors: Jordi Vallverdu, Richard Mayne, Yukiopegio Gunji, Oscar Castro, Max Talanov, Michael Levin, Frantisek Baluska, Audrey Dussutour, Hector Zenil, Andrew AdamatzkyAbstract:© 2018 Elsevier B.V. The Slime Mould Physarum polycephalum has been used in developing unconventional computing devices for in which the Slime Mould played a role of a sensing, actuating, and computing device. These devices treated the Slime Mould as an active living substrate, yet it is a self-consistent living creature which evolved over millions of years and occupied most parts of the world, but in any case, that living entity did not own true cognition, just automated biochemical mechanisms. To “rehabilitate” Slime Mould from the rank of a purely living electronics element to a “creature of thoughts” we are analyzing the cognitive potential of P. polycephalum. We base our theory of minimal cognition of the Slime Mould on a bottom-up approach, from the biological and biophysical nature of the Slime Mould and its regulatory systems using frameworks such as Lyon's biogenic cognition, Muller, di Primio-Lengelerś modifiable pathways, Bateson's “patterns that connect” framework, Maturana's autopoietic network, or proto-consciousness and Morgan's Canon.
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discovering boolean gates in Slime Mould
arXiv: Emerging Technologies, 2018Co-Authors: Simon Harding, Jan Koutnik, Jurgen Schmidhuber, Andrew AdamatzkyAbstract:Slime Mould of Physarum polycephalum is a large cell exhibiting rich spatial non-linear electrical characteristics. We exploit the electrical properties of the Slime Mould to implement logic gates using a flexible hardware platform designed for investigating the electrical properties of a substrate (Mecobo). We apply arbitrary electrical signals to ‘configure’ the Slime Mould, i.e. change shape of its body and, measure the Slime Mould’s electrical response. We show that it is possible to find configurations that allow the Physarum to act as any 2-input Boolean gate. The occurrence frequency of the gates discovered in the Slime was analysed and compared to complexity hierarchies of logical gates obtained in other unconventional materials. The search for gates was performed by both sweeping across configurations in the real material as well as training a neural network-based model and searching the gates therein using gradient descent.
Andrew Adamatzky - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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biolithography Slime Mould patterning of polyaniline
Applied Surface Science, 2018Co-Authors: Tatiana Berzina, Victor Erokhin, Alice Dimonte, Andrew Adamatzky, Salvatore IannottaAbstract:Abstract Slime Mould Physarum polycephalum develops intricate patterns of protoplasmic networks when foraging on a non-nutrient substrates. The networks are optimised for spanning larger spaces with minimum body mass and for quick transfer of nutrients and metabolites inside the Slime Mould’s body. We hybridise the Slime Mould’s networks with conductive polymer polyaniline and thus produce micro-patterns of conductive networks. This unconventional lithographic method opens new perspectives in development of living technology devices, biocompatible non-silicon hardware for applications in integrated circuits, bioelectronics, and biosensing.
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Computational Intelligence, Medicine and Biology - Selected Links - Biomimicry of crowd evacuation with a Slime Mould cellular automaton model
Studies in computational intelligence, 2017Co-Authors: Vicky Kalogeiton, Georgios Ch Sirakoulis, Dim P Papadopoulos, Ioannis Georgilas, Andrew AdamatzkyAbstract:Evacuation is an imminent movement of people away from sources of danger. Evacuation in highly structured environments, e.g. building, requires advance planning and large-scale control. Finding a shortest path towards exit is a key for the prompt successful evacuation. Slime Mould Physarum polycephalum is proven to be an efficient path solver: the living Slime Mould calculates optimal paths towards sources of attractants yet maximizes distances from repellents. The search strategy implemented by the Slime Mould is straightforward yet efficient. The Slime Mould develops may active traveling zones, or pseudopodia, which propagates along different, alternative, routes the pseudopodia close to the target loci became dominating and the pseudopodia propagating along less optimal routes decease. We adopt the Slime Mould’s strategy in a Cellular-Automaton (CA) model of a crowd evacuation. CA are massive-parallel computation tool capable for mimicking the Physarum’s behaviour. The model accounts for Physarum foraging process, the food diffusion, the organism’s growth, the creation of tubes for each organism, the selection of optimum path for each human and imitation movement of all humans at each time step towards near exit. To test the efficiency and robustness of the proposed CA model, several simulation scenarios were proposed proving that the model succeeds to reproduce sufficiently the Physarum’s inspiring behaviour.
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structural machines and Slime Mould computation
International Journal of General Systems, 2017Co-Authors: Mark Burgin, Andrew AdamatzkyAbstract:AbstractA 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. The goal of this paper to advance formalism of Physarum machines providing theoretical tools for exploration of possibilities of these machines and extension of their applications. To achieve this goal, we introduce structural machines and study their properties.
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evaluation of french motorway network in relation to Slime Mould transport networks
Environment and Planning B-planning & Design, 2017Co-Authors: Andrew Adamatzky, Jeff Jones, Olivier Allard, Rachel ArmstrongAbstract:France has developed a high quality motorway system that has been rapidly rationalised and matured in the late 20th century yet has been founded on ancient, Roman infrastructures. The development of the motorway system is thus an iterative method associated with hierarchical ‘top-down’ processes taking into consideration factors such as population density, network demand, location of natural resources, civil engineering challenges and population growth. At the opposite extreme to this approach is the development of transport networks within simple biological systems which are typically decentralised, dynamic and emerge from simple, local and ‘bottom-up’ interactions. We examine the notion, and to what extent, that the structure of a complex motorway network could be predicted by the transport network of the single-celled Slime Mould Physarum polycephalum. This comparison is explored through its ability to ‘deduce’ the French motorway network in a series of analogue and digital experiments. We compare Phys...
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on chirality of Slime Mould
BioSystems, 2016Co-Authors: Alice Dimonte, Victor Erokhin, Andrew Adamatzky, Michael LevinAbstract:Left-right patterning and lateralised behaviour is an ubiquitous aspect of plants and animals. The mechanisms linking cellular chirality to the large-scale asymmetry of multicellular structures are incompletely understood, and it has been suggested that the chirality of living cells is hardwired in their cytoskeleton. We examined the question of biased asymmetry in a unique organism: the Slime Mould Physarum polycephalum, which is unicellular yet possesses macroscopic, complex structure and behaviour. In laboratory experiment using a T-shape, we found that Physarum turns right in more than 74% of trials. The results are in agreement with previously published studies on asymmetric movement of muscle cells, neutrophils, liver cells and growing neural filaments, and for the first time reveal the presence of consistently-biased laterality in the fungi kingdom. Exact mechanisms of the Slime Mould's direction preference remain unknown.
Jeff Jones - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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PhyChip: Growing Computers with Slime Mould
Natural Computing Series, 2018Co-Authors: Andrew Adamatzky, Jeff Jones, Richard Mayne, James G. H. Whiting, Victor Erokhin, Andrew Schumann, Stefano SiccardiAbstract:Slime Mould Physarum polycephalum is a large single cell capable of distributed sensing, concurrent information processing, parallel computation, and decentralised 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. In the last decade Physarum has become a popular inspiration for mathematical and algorithmic models and philosophical concepts of unconventional computing: give the Slime Mould a problem and it will solve it. We provide a concise summary of computing and sensing operations implemented with live Slime Mould and evaluate the feasibility of Slime Mould-based computing.
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Slime Mould Inspired Models for Path Planning: Collective and Structural Approaches
Emergence Complexity and Computation, 2018Co-Authors: Jeff Jones, A. A. SafonovAbstract:Path planning is a classic and important problem in computer science, with manifold applications in transport optimisation, delivery scheduling, interactive visualisation and robotic trajectory planning. The task has been the subject of classical, heuristic and bio-inspired solutions to the problem. Path planning can be performed in both non-living and living systems. Amongst living organisms which perform path planning, the giant amoeboid single-celled organism Slime Mould Physarum polycephalum has been shown to possess this ability. The field of Slime Mould computing has been created in recent decades to exploit the behaviour of this remarkable organism in both classical algorithms and unconventional computing schemes. In this chapter we give an overview of two recent approaches to Slime Mould inspired computing. The first utilises emergent behaviour in a multi-agent population, behaving in both non-coupled and coupled modes which correspond to Slime Mould foraging and adaptation respectively. The second method is the structural approach which employs numerical solutions to volumetric topological optimisation. Although both methods exploit physical processes, they are generated and governed using very different techniques. Despite these differences we find that both approaches successfully exhibit path planning functionality. We demonstrate novel properties found in each approach which suggest that these methods are complementary and may be applicable to application domains which require structural and mechanical adaptation to changing environments.
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evaluation of french motorway network in relation to Slime Mould transport networks
Environment and Planning B-planning & Design, 2017Co-Authors: Andrew Adamatzky, Jeff Jones, Olivier Allard, Rachel ArmstrongAbstract:France has developed a high quality motorway system that has been rapidly rationalised and matured in the late 20th century yet has been founded on ancient, Roman infrastructures. The development of the motorway system is thus an iterative method associated with hierarchical ‘top-down’ processes taking into consideration factors such as population density, network demand, location of natural resources, civil engineering challenges and population growth. At the opposite extreme to this approach is the development of transport networks within simple biological systems which are typically decentralised, dynamic and emerge from simple, local and ‘bottom-up’ interactions. We examine the notion, and to what extent, that the structure of a complex motorway network could be predicted by the transport network of the single-celled Slime Mould Physarum polycephalum. This comparison is explored through its ability to ‘deduce’ the French motorway network in a series of analogue and digital experiments. We compare Phys...
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on using compressibility to detect when Slime Mould completed computation
Complexity, 2016Co-Authors: Andrew Adamatzky, Jeff JonesAbstract:Slime Mould Physarum polycephalum is a single cell visible by an unaided eye. The Slime Mould optimizes its network of protoplasmic tubes in gradients of attractants and repellents. This behavior is interpreted as computation. Several prototypes of the Slime Mould computers were designed to solve problems of computation geometry, graphs, transport networks, and to implement universal computing circuits. Being a living substrate, the Slime Mould does not halt its behavior when a task is solved but often continues foraging the space thus masking the solution found. We propose to use temporal changes in compressibility of the Slime Mould patterns as indicators of the halting of the computation. Compressibility of a pattern characterizes the pattern's morphological diversity, that is, a number of different local configurations. At the beginning of computation the Slime explores the space, thus generating less compressible patterns. After gradients of attractants and repellents are detected the Slime spans data sites with its protoplasmic network and retracts scouting branches, thus generating more compressible patterns. We analyze the feasibility of the approach on results of laboratory experiments and computer modelling. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity, 2015
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Multi-agent Slime Mould Computing: Mechanisms, Applications and Advances
Advances in Physarum Machines, 2016Co-Authors: Jeff JonesAbstract:The giant single-celled Slime Mould Physarum polycephalum has inspired developments in bio-inspired computing and unconventional computing substrates since the start of this century. This is primarily due to its simple component parts and the distributed nature of the ‘computation’ which it approximates during its growth, foraging and adaptation to a changing environment. Slime Mould functions as a living embodied computational material which can be influenced by external stimuli. The goal of exploiting this material behaviour for unconventional computation led to the development of a simple multi-agent approach to the approximation of Slime Mould behaviour. The basis of the model is a simple dynamical pattern formation mechanism which exhibits self-organised formation and subsequent adaptation of collective transport networks. The system exhibits emergent properties such as relaxation and minimisation and it can be considered as a virtual material, influenced by the external application of spatial concentration gradients. In this chapter we give an overview of this multi-agent approach to unconventional computing. We describe its computational mechanisms and different generic application domains, together with concrete example applications of material computation. We examine the potential exploitation of the approach for computational geometry, path planning, combinatorial optimisation, data smoothing and statistical approximation applications.
Georgios Ch Sirakoulis - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Computational Intelligence, Medicine and Biology - Selected Links - Biomimicry of crowd evacuation with a Slime Mould cellular automaton model
Studies in computational intelligence, 2017Co-Authors: Vicky Kalogeiton, Georgios Ch Sirakoulis, Dim P Papadopoulos, Ioannis Georgilas, Andrew AdamatzkyAbstract:Evacuation is an imminent movement of people away from sources of danger. Evacuation in highly structured environments, e.g. building, requires advance planning and large-scale control. Finding a shortest path towards exit is a key for the prompt successful evacuation. Slime Mould Physarum polycephalum is proven to be an efficient path solver: the living Slime Mould calculates optimal paths towards sources of attractants yet maximizes distances from repellents. The search strategy implemented by the Slime Mould is straightforward yet efficient. The Slime Mould develops may active traveling zones, or pseudopodia, which propagates along different, alternative, routes the pseudopodia close to the target loci became dominating and the pseudopodia propagating along less optimal routes decease. We adopt the Slime Mould’s strategy in a Cellular-Automaton (CA) model of a crowd evacuation. CA are massive-parallel computation tool capable for mimicking the Physarum’s behaviour. The model accounts for Physarum foraging process, the food diffusion, the organism’s growth, the creation of tubes for each organism, the selection of optimum path for each human and imitation movement of all humans at each time step towards near exit. To test the efficiency and robustness of the proposed CA model, several simulation scenarios were proposed proving that the model succeeds to reproduce sufficiently the Physarum’s inspiring behaviour.
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Oscillation-Based Slime Mould Electronic Circuit Model for Maze-Solving Computations
IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems I: Regular Papers, 2017Co-Authors: Vasileios Ntinas, Georgios Ch Sirakoulis, Ioannis Vourkas, Andrew AdamatzkyAbstract:The ability of Slime Mould to learn and adapt to periodic changes in its environment inspired scientists to develop behavioral memristor-based circuit models of its memory organization. The computing abilities of Slime Mould Physarum polycephalum have been used in several applications, including to solve mazes. This work presents a circuit-level bio-inspired maze-solving approach via an electronic model of the oscillatory internal motion mechanism of Slime Mould, which emulates the local signal propagation and the expansion of its vascular network. Our implementation takes into account the inherent noise existent in the equivalent biological circuit, so that its behavior becomes closer to the non-deterministic behavior of the real organism. The efficiency and generality of the proposed electronic computing medium was validated through SPICE-level circuit simulations and compared with data from two cardinally different biological experiments, concerning 1) enhancing of Physarum's protoplasmic tubes along shortest path and 2) chemo-tactic growth by diffusing chemo-attractants.
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cellular automata models simulating Slime Mould computing
2016Co-Authors: Michailantisthenis I Tsompanas, Georgios Ch Sirakoulis, Andrew AdamatzkyAbstract:Slime Mould computers have been used to solve graph-theoretical problems like mazes and evaluate man-made transport networks. For the laboratory experiments that demonstrate these computing capabilities, Slime Mould is first starved and then introduced to an area with attractants placed on key positions. The behaviour of Slime Mould during these laboratory experiments have been simulated by a model based on cellular automata (CAs). The advantages of a software model over the real Slime Mould are repeatability and faster productions of results. Using CAs can be justified by the emergence of global behaviour from local interactions, a rule that applies also on the real Slime Mould. The results of the model have been compared to the ones produced during laboratory experiments and found in good agreement both for maze solving and network designing. After thorough examination of the laboratory experiments an updated model was developed, which yielded more efficient networks. As the model was parametrized to produce slightly differentiated results, the effects of these parameters were studied.
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biomimicry of crowd evacuation with a Slime Mould cellular automaton model
Studies in computational intelligence, 2015Co-Authors: Vicky Kalogeiton, Georgios Ch Sirakoulis, Dim P Papadopoulos, Ioannis Georgilas, Andrew AdamatzkyAbstract:Evacuation is an imminent movement of people away from sources of danger. Evacuation in highly structured environments, e.g. building, requires advance planning and large-scale control. Finding a shortest path towards exit is a key for the prompt successful evacuation. Slime Mould Physarum polycephalum is proven to be an efficient path solver: the living Slime Mould calculates optimal paths towards sources of attractants yet maximizes distances from repellents. The search strategy implemented by the Slime Mould is straightforward yet efficient. The Slime Mould develops may active traveling zones, or pseudopodia, which propagates along different, alternative, routes the pseudopodia close to the target loci became dominating and the pseudopodia propagating along less optimal routes decease. We adopt the Slime Mould’s strategy in a Cellular-Automaton (CA) model of a crowd evacuation. CA are massive-parallel computation tool capable for mimicking the Physarum’s behaviour. The model accounts for Physarum foraging process, the food diffusion, the organism’s growth, the creation of tubes for each organism, the selection of optimum path for each human and imitation movement of all humans at each time step towards near exit. To test the efficiency and robustness of the proposed CA model, several simulation scenarios were proposed proving that the model succeeds to reproduce sufficiently the Physarum’s inspiring behaviour.
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Evolving Transport Networks With Cellular Automata Models Inspired by Slime Mould
IEEE Transactions on Cybernetics, 2015Co-Authors: Michailantisthenis I Tsompanas, Georgios Ch Sirakoulis, Andrew AdamatzkyAbstract:Man-made transport networks and their design are closely related to the shortest path problem and considered amongst the most debated problems of computational intelligence. Apart from using conventional or bio-inspired computer algorithms, many researchers tried to solve this kind of problem using biological computing substrates, gas-discharge solvers, prototypes of a mobile droplet, and hot ice computers. In this aspect, another example of biological computer is the plasmodium of a cellular Slime Mould Physarum polycephalum (P. polycephalum), which is a large single cell visible by an unaided eye and has been proven as a reliable living substrate for implementing biological computing devices for computational geometry, graph-theoretical problems, and optimization and imitation of transport networks. Although P. polycephalum is easy to experiment with, computing devices built with the living Slime Mould are extremely slow; it takes Slime Mould days to execute a computation. Consequently, mapping key computing mechanisms of the Slime Mould onto silicon would allow us to produce efficient bio-inspired computing devices to tackle with hard to solve computational intelligence problems like the aforementioned. Toward this direction, a cellular automaton (CA)-based, Physarum-inspired, network designing model is proposed. This novel CA-based model is inspired by the propagating strategy, the formation of tubular networks, and the computing abilities of the plasmodium of P. polycephalum. The results delivered by the CA model demonstrate a good match with several previously published results of experimental laboratory studies on imitation of man-made transport networks with P. polycephalum. Consequently, the proposed CA model can be used as a virtual, easy-to-access, and biomimicking laboratory emulator that will economize large time periods needed for biological experiments while producing networks almost identical to the tubular networks of the real-Slime Mould.
Rachel Armstrong - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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evaluation of french motorway network in relation to Slime Mould transport networks
Environment and Planning B-planning & Design, 2017Co-Authors: Andrew Adamatzky, Jeff Jones, Olivier Allard, Rachel ArmstrongAbstract:France has developed a high quality motorway system that has been rapidly rationalised and matured in the late 20th century yet has been founded on ancient, Roman infrastructures. The development of the motorway system is thus an iterative method associated with hierarchical ‘top-down’ processes taking into consideration factors such as population density, network demand, location of natural resources, civil engineering challenges and population growth. At the opposite extreme to this approach is the development of transport networks within simple biological systems which are typically decentralised, dynamic and emerge from simple, local and ‘bottom-up’ interactions. We examine the notion, and to what extent, that the structure of a complex motorway network could be predicted by the transport network of the single-celled Slime Mould Physarum polycephalum. This comparison is explored through its ability to ‘deduce’ the French motorway network in a series of analogue and digital experiments. We compare Phys...
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on creativity of Slime Mould
International Journal of General Systems, 2013Co-Authors: Andrew Adamatzky, Jeff Jones, Rachel Armstrong, Yukiopegio GunjiAbstract:Slime Mould Physarum polycephalum is large single cell with intriguingly smart behaviour. The Slime Mould shows outstanding abilities to adapt its protoplasmic network to varying environmental conditions. The Slime Mould can solve tasks of computational geometry, image processing, logics and arithmetics when data are represented by configurations of attractants and repellents. We attempt to map behavioural patterns of Slime onto the cognitive control versus schizotypy spectrum phase space and thus interpret Slime Mould’s activity in terms of creativity.