Unconventional computing
Encyclopedia
Unconventional computing is computing
by a wide range of new or unusual methods. It is also known as alternative computing. The different methods of unconventional computing include optical computing, quantum computing, chemical computing
, natural computing, biologically-inspired computing
, wetware computing
, DNA computing, molecular computing, amorphous computing
, nanocomputing
, reversible computing
, ternary computing
, fluidics
, analogue computing, and Domino Computation
.
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. Some mechanical computers have a theoretical or didactic relevance, such as billiard-ball computer
s or hydraulic ones,. While some are actually simulated, others are not; no attempt is made to build a functioning computer through the mechanical collisions of billiard balls. The domino computer
is another theoretically interesting mechanical computing scheme.
Unconventional computing is, according to a recent conference description, "an interdisciplinary research area with the main goal to enrich or go beyond the standard models, such as the Von Neumann computer architecture
and the Turing machine, which have dominated computer science for more than half a century". These methods model their computational operations based on non-standard paradigms, and are currently mostly in the research and development stage. This computing behavior can be "simulated" using the classical silicon-based micro-transistors or solid state
computing technologies, but aim to achieve a new kind of computing engineering inspired in nature.
Computing
Computing is usually defined as the activity of using and improving computer hardware and software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology...
by a wide range of new or unusual methods. It is also known as alternative computing. The different methods of unconventional computing include optical computing, quantum computing, chemical computing
Chemical computer
A chemical computer, also called reaction-diffusion computer, BZ computer or gooware computer is an unconventional computer based on a semi-solid chemical "soup" where data is represented by varying concentrations of chemicals. The computations are performed by naturally occurring chemical...
, natural computing, biologically-inspired computing
Biologically-inspired computing
Bio-inspired computing, short for biologically-inspired computing, is a field of study that loosely knits together subfields related to the topics of connectionism, social behaviour and emergence. It is often closely related to the field of artificial intelligence, as many of its pursuits can be...
, wetware computing
Wetware computer
A wetware computer is an organic computer built from living neurons. , at the Georgia Institute of Technology, is the primary researcher driving the creation of these artificially constructed, but still organic brains...
, DNA computing, molecular computing, amorphous computing
Amorphous computing
Amorphous computing refers to computational systems that use very large numbers of identical, parallel processors each having limited computational ability and local interactions...
, nanocomputing
Nanocomputer
Nanocomputer is the logical name for a computer smaller than the microcomputer, which is smaller than the minicomputer. More technically, it is a computer whose fundamental parts are no bigger than a few nanometers...
, reversible computing
Reversible computing
Reversible computing is a model of computing where the computational process to some extent is reversible, i.e., time-invertible. A necessary condition for reversibility of a computational model is that the transition function mapping states to their successors at a given later time should be...
, ternary computing
Ternary computer
A ternary computer is a computer that uses ternary logic instead of the more common binary logic in its calculations.-History:...
, fluidics
Fluidics
Fluidics or Fluidic logic is the use of a fluid to perform analog or digital operations similar to those performed with electronics.The physical basis of fluidics is pneumatics and hydraulics, based on the theoretical foundation of fluid dynamics...
, analogue computing, and Domino Computation
Domino computer
A domino computer is a mechanical computer built using dominoes to represent mechanical amplification or logic gating of digital signals. Because of the existence of multiple schemes, domino computer will be used in this article as a collective noun, denoting any particular scheme that uses the...
.
Historically, mechanical computers were used in industry before the advent of the transistor
Transistor
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current...
. Mechanical computers retain some interest today both in research and as analogue computers. Some mechanical computers have a theoretical or didactic relevance, such as billiard-ball computer
Billiard-Ball Computer
A billiard ball computer, also known as a conservative logic circuit, is an idealized model of a reversible mechanical computer based on newtonian dynamics, proposed in 1982 by Edward Fredkin and Tommaso Toffoli...
s or hydraulic ones,. While some are actually simulated, others are not; no attempt is made to build a functioning computer through the mechanical collisions of billiard balls. The domino computer
Domino computer
A domino computer is a mechanical computer built using dominoes to represent mechanical amplification or logic gating of digital signals. Because of the existence of multiple schemes, domino computer will be used in this article as a collective noun, denoting any particular scheme that uses the...
is another theoretically interesting mechanical computing scheme.
Unconventional computing is, according to a recent conference description, "an interdisciplinary research area with the main goal to enrich or go beyond the standard models, such as the Von Neumann computer architecture
Von Neumann architecture
The term Von Neumann architecture, aka the Von Neumann model, derives from a computer architecture proposal by the mathematician and early computer scientist John von Neumann and others, dated June 30, 1945, entitled First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC...
and the Turing machine, which have dominated computer science for more than half a century". These methods model their computational operations based on non-standard paradigms, and are currently mostly in the research and development stage. This computing behavior can be "simulated" using the classical silicon-based micro-transistors or solid state
Solid state (electronics)
Solid-state electronics are those circuits or devices built entirely from solid materials and in which the electrons, or other charge carriers, are confined entirely within the solid material...
computing technologies, but aim to achieve a new kind of computing engineering inspired in nature.
Mechanisms
- Billiard ballBilliard ballA billiard ball is a small, hard ball used in cue sports, such as carom billiards, pool, and snooker. The number, type, diameter, color, and pattern of the balls differ depending upon the specific game being played...
s (billiard ball computer); this is an unintuitive and pedagogical example that a computer can be made out of almost anything. - LightLightLight or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light has wavelength in a range from about 380 nanometres to about 740 nm, with a frequency range of about 405 THz to 790 THz...
(optical computing)
- Computers can manipulate information as light (rather than electricity or billiard balls).
- Molecules (DNA computingDNA computingDNA computing is a form of computing which uses DNA, biochemistry and molecular biology, instead of the traditional silicon-based computer technologies. DNA computing, or, more generally, biomolecular computing, is a fast developing interdisciplinary area...
, chemical computing) - Gears, levels, dials, etc. (analog computerAnalog computerAn analog computer is a form of computer that uses the continuously-changeable aspects of physical phenomena such as electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic quantities to model the problem being solved...
/mechanical computers) - Neurons (wetware computerWetware computerA wetware computer is an organic computer built from living neurons. , at the Georgia Institute of Technology, is the primary researcher driving the creation of these artificially constructed, but still organic brains...
) - FluidFluidIn physics, a fluid is a substance that continually deforms under an applied shear stress. Fluids are a subset of the phases of matter and include liquids, gases, plasmas and, to some extent, plastic solids....
(fluidicsFluidicsFluidics or Fluidic logic is the use of a fluid to perform analog or digital operations similar to those performed with electronics.The physical basis of fluidics is pneumatics and hydraulics, based on the theoretical foundation of fluid dynamics...
) - Software agents acting under a special set of rules (cellular automata)
- People acting under a set of rules can be part of a computer; example. If the "agent" were a human, it would not be major part of the computer, exactly like a single neuron is not an entire brain system.
- Quantum mechanicsQuantum mechanicsQuantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
(quantum computing)
- Molecules (DNA computing
See also
- Biologically inspired computing
- Natural computation
- Network computingNetwork computingNetwork computing is a generic term in computing which refers to computers or nodes working together over a network.It may also mean:*Cloud computing*Distributed computing*Virtual Network Computing...