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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.
List of contents
From Reaction-Diffusion to Physarum Computing; Experimenting with Physarum; Physarum Solves Mazes; Plane Tessellation; Oregonator Model of Physarum Growing Trees; Physarum and Toussaint Hierarchy; Physarum Gates; Kolmogorov-Uspensky Machine in Plasmodium; Reconfiguring Physarum Machines with Attractants; Programming Physarum Machines with Light; Routing Physarum with Repellents; Physarum Manipulators; Physarum Boats; Manipulating Substances with Physarum Machine; Road Planning with Slime Mould.
About the author
Andrew Adamatzky is Professor of Unconventional Computing and Director of the Unconventional Computing Laboratory, Department of Computer Science, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK. He does research in molecular computing,reaction-diffusion computing,collision-based computing, cellular automata, slime mould computing, massive parallel computation, applied mathematics, complexity, nature-inspired optimization, collective intelligence and robotics, bionics, computational psychology, non-linear science, novel hardware, and future and emergent computation. He has authored seven books, mostly notable are 'Reaction-Diffusion Computing', 'Dynamics of Crow Minds', and 'Physarum Machines', and has edited 22 books in computing, most notable are 'Collision Based Computing', 'Game of Life Cellular Automata', and 'Memristor Networks'. He has also produced a series of in¿uential artworks published in the atlas 'Silence of Slime Mould'. He is Founding Editor-in-Chief of 'J of Cellular Automata' and 'J of Unconventional Computing' and Editor-in-Chief of 'J Parallel, Emergent, Distributed Systems' and 'Parallel Processing Letters'.
