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Handbook of Natural Computing pp 1897–1920Cite as

Reaction–Diffusion Computing

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Abstract

A reaction–diffusion computer is a spatially extended chemical system, which processes information by transforming an input concentration profile to an output concentration profile in a deterministic and controlled manner. In reaction–diffusion computers, the data are represented by concentration profiles of reagents, information is transferred by propagating diffusive and phase waves, computation is implemented via the interaction of these traveling patterns (diffusive and excitation waves), and the results of the computation are recorded as a final concentration profile. Chemical reaction–diffusion computing is among the leaders in providing experimental prototypes in the fields of unconventional and nature-inspired computing. This chapter provides a case-study introduction to the field of reaction–diffusion computing, and shows how selected problems and tasks of computational geometry, robotics, and logics can be solved by encoding data within transient states of a chemical medium and by programming the dynamics and interactions of chemical waves.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK

    Andrew Adamatzky

  2. Centre for Research in Analytical, Material and Sensor Sciences, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK

    Benjamin De Lacy Costello

Authors
  1. Andrew Adamatzky
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  2. Benjamin De Lacy Costello
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. LIACS, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Grzegorz Rozenberg

  2. Computer Science Department, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA

    Grzegorz Rozenberg

  3. LIACS, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Thomas Bäck

  4. LIACS, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Joost N. Kok

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Adamatzky, A., Costello, B.D. (2012). Reaction–Diffusion Computing. In: Rozenberg, G., Bäck, T., Kok, J.N. (eds) Handbook of Natural Computing. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-92910-9_56

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