Project description
FET Proactive: Unconventional Computation (UCOMP)
We will design and fabricate a distributed biomorphic computing device built and operated by slime mould Physarum polycephalum. A Physarum chip is a network of processing elements made of the slime mould's protoplasmic tubes coated with conductive substances; the network is populated by living slime mould. A living network of protoplasmic tubes acts as an active non-linear transducer of information, while templates of tubes coated with conductor act as fast information channels.
The Physarum chip will have parallel inputs (optical, chemo- and electro-based) and outputs (electrical and optical). The Physarum chip will solve a wide range of computation tasks, including optimisation on graphs, computational geometry, robot control, logic and arithmetical computing. The slime mould-based implementation is a bio-physical model of future nano-chips based on biomorphic mineralisation.
We envisage that research and development centred on novel computing substrates, as self-assembled and fault-tolerant fungal networks will lead to a revolution in the bio-electronics and computer industry. Combined with conventional electronic components in a hybrid chip, Physarum networks will radically improve the performance of digital and analog circuits.
Taking into account the enormous and growing interest of research centres and commercial laboratories in the recent experimental implementations of chemical, molecular and biological computers, we can predict that in the next 20-30 years, networks of slime mould mineralised and/or coated with compound substances will become a widespread commodity and a very promising component of novel information processing circuits.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering analogue electronics
- social sciences political sciences political transitions revolutions
- natural sciences mathematics pure mathematics geometry
- natural sciences computer and information sciences data science data processing
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP7-ICT-2011-8
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Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
BS16 1QY BRISTOL
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.