1st Edition

Computing in Nonlinear Media and Automata Collectives

By Andrew Adamatzky Copyright 2001

    Computing in Nonlinear Media and Automata Collectives presents an account of new ways to design massively parallel computing devices in advanced mathematical models, such as cellular automata and lattice swarms, from unconventional materials, including chemical solutions, bio-polymers, and excitable media.

    Reaction-diffusion, excitation, and computation. Subdivision of space. Computation on and with graphs. Computational universality of excitable media. Phenomenology of lattice excitation and emergence of computation.

    Biography

    Andrew Adamatzky

    "… a very original book by a very original author who is a regular contributor to Chaos, Solitons and Fractals and is a well-known name to readers of our journal … In my opinion, this book is a valuable reading material for mathematicians, physicists, chemists, and engineers working in the applications of nonlinear dynamics and related fields."
    -M.S. El Naschie, Pergamon

    "The book is a fascinating guide for the discovery of the complex domain of 'unconventional computing' … the richness of the topics allows for additional personalized readings satisfying the interests of multidisciplinary readers. The argumentation is well organized, from the basic concepts to more sophisticated techniques."
    -Carla Simone, Universita di Milano Bicocca

    "This captivating book surveys novel unconventional computing methods. For quite some time now experimental results have demonstrated the potential of DNA-based computing. But this book represents a surprisingly large number of additional designs of computing devices that to a great part are based on natural substances: they include curiosities as a model of the dynamics of a shifting sandpile and devices that imitate the behaviour of a nest of foraging ants … The many examples of unconventional computing methods in this book are presented in various degrees of detail … It remains to be seen which of the many unconventional computing methods in Adamatzky's interesting book will evolve from their present abstract state to actual devices of practical value."
    -Menachem Dishon, Mathematical Reviews