Unconventional computing
Computing by new or unusual methods Unconventional computing is computing by any of a wide range of new or unusual methods. It is also known as alternative computing. The term unconventional computation was coined by Cristian S. Background[edit] Computational model[edit] Computational models use computer programs to simulate and study complex systems using an algorithmic or mechanistic approach. Mechanical computing[edit] Historically, mechanical computers were used in industry before the advent of the transistor. Mechanical computers retain some interest today, both in research and as analogue computers. While some are actually simulated, others are not[clarification needed]. Analog computing[edit] An analog computer is a type of computer that uses analog signals, which are continuous physical quantities, to model and solve problems. Electronic digital computers[edit] Unconventional computing is, according to a[which?] Generic approaches[edit] Physical objects[edit] Reservoir computing[edit]
Chemical computer
Unconventional computer based on a semi-solid chemical "soup" A chemical computer, also called a reaction-diffusion computer, Belousov–Zhabotinsky (BZ) computer, or gooware computer, is an unconventional computer based on a semi-solid chemical "soup" where data are represented by varying concentrations of chemicals.[1] The computations are performed by naturally occurring chemical reactions. Originally chemical reactions were seen as a simple move towards a stable equilibrium which was not very promising for computation. This was changed by a discovery made by Boris Belousov, a Soviet scientist, in the 1950s. He created a chemical reaction between different salts and acids that swing back and forth between being yellow and clear because the concentration of the different components changes up and down in a cyclic way. The wave properties of the BZ reaction means it can move information in the same way as all other waves.
Wetware (brain)
Term drawn from the idea of hardware or software Wetware is a term drawn from the computer-related idea of hardware or software, but applied to biological life forms. The prefix "wet" is a reference to the water found in living creatures. The "hardware" component of wetware concerns the bioelectric and biochemical properties of the CNS, specifically the brain. Although the exact definition has shifted over time, the term Wetware and its fundamental reference to "the physical mind" has been around at least since the mid-1950s. ... all sparks and tastes and tangles, all its stimulus/response patterns – the whole bio-cybernetic software of mind. Rucker did not use the word to simply mean a brain, nor in the human-resources sense of employees. Rucker describes his conception in a 1992 compendium The Mondo 2000 User's Guide to the New Edge, which he quotes in a 2007 blog entry.[4] Early cyber-guru Arthur Kroker used the term in his blog.[5]
Biosensor
A biosensor is an analytical device, used for the detection of an analyte, that combines a biological component with a physicochemical detector.[1][2] the sensitive biological element (e.g. tissue, microorganisms, organelles, cell receptors, enzymes, antibodies, nucleic acids, etc.), a biologically derived material or biomimetic component that interacts (binds or recognizes) the analyte under study. Examples and applications[edit] A common example of a commercial biosensor is the blood glucose biosensor, which uses the enzyme glucose oxidase to break blood glucose down. In doing so it first oxidizes glucose and uses two electrons to reduce the FAD (a component of the enzyme) to FADH2. This in turn is oxidized by the electrode in a number of steps. A canary in a cage, as used by miners to warn of gas, could be considered a biosensor. Light of a fixed wavelength is reflected off the gold side of the chip at the angle of total internal reflection, and detected inside the instrument. Cells
Machine olfaction
Simulation of the sense of smell Machine olfaction is the automated simulation of the sense of smell. An emerging application in modern engineering, it involves the use of robots or other automated systems to analyze air-borne chemicals. One type of proposed machine olfaction technology is via gas sensor array instruments capable of detecting, identifying, and measuring volatile compounds. Detection[edit] There are three basic detection techniques using conductive-polymer odor sensors (polypyrrole), tin-oxide gas sensors, and quartz-crystal micro-balance sensors. The entire system is a means of converting complex sensor responses into a qualitative profile of the volatile (or complex mixture of chemical volatiles) that make up a smell, in the form of an output. Conventional electronic noses are not analytical instruments in the classical sense and very few claim to be able to quantify an odor. Odor localization[edit] Motivation[edit] Application[edit] History and problem statement[edit] where
Biological computer bornNeurocomputers - computers...
Wetware computer
Computer composed of organic material The concept of wetware is distinct and unconventional and draws slight resonance with both hardware and software from conventional computers. While hardware is understood as the physical architecture of traditional computational devices, comprising integrated circuits and supporting infrastructure, software represents the encoded architecture of storage and instructions. Wetware is a separate concept that uses the formation of organic molecules, mostly complex cellular structures (such as neurons), to create a computational device such as a computer. In wetware, the ideas of hardware and software are intertwined and interdependent. The structure of wetware represents a model where the external structure and internal programming are interdependent and unified; meaning that changes to the programming or internal communication between molecules of the device would represent a physical change in the structure. The cell as a model of wetware [edit]
