DocumentCode :
1764085
Title :
Route 20, Autobahn 7, and Slime Mold: Approximating the Longest Roads in USA and Germany With Slime Mold on 3-D Terrains
Author :
Adamatzky, Andrew I.
Author_Institution :
Univ. of the West of England, Bristol, UK
Volume :
44
Issue :
1
fYear :
2014
fDate :
Jan. 2014
Firstpage :
126
Lastpage :
136
Abstract :
A cellular slime mould Physarum polycephalum is a monstrously large single cell visible by an unaided eye. The slime mold explores space in parallel, is guided by gradients of chemoattractants, and propagates toward sources of nutrients along nearly shortest paths. The slime mold is a living prototype of amorphous biological computers and robotic devices capable of solving a range of tasks of graph optimization and computational geometry. When presented with a distribution of nutrients, the slime mold spans the sources of nutrients with a network of protoplasmic tubes. This protoplasmic network matches a network of major transport routes of a country when configuration of major urban areas is represented by nutrients. A transport route connecting two cities should ideally be a shortest path, and this is usually the case in computer simulations and laboratory experiments with flat substrates. What searching strategies does the slime mold adopt when exploring 3-D terrains? How are optimal and transport routes approximated by protoplasmic tubes? Do the routes built by the slime mold on 3-D terrain match real-world transport routes? To answer these questions, we conducted pioneer laboratory experiments with Nylon terrains of USA and Germany. We used the slime mold to approximate route 20, the longest road in USA, and autobahn 7, the longest national motorway in Europe. We found that slime mold builds longer transport routes on 3-D terrains, compared to flat substrates yet sufficiently approximates man-made transport routes studied. We demonstrate that nutrients placed in destination sites affect performance of slime mold, and show how the mold navigates around elevations. In cellular automaton models of the slime mold, we have shown variability of the protoplasmic routes might depends on physiological states of the slime mold. Results presented will contribute toward development of novel algorithms for sensorial fusion, information processing, and decision making, and - ill provide inspirations in design of bioinspired amorphous robotic devices.
Keywords :
biocomputing; cartography; cellular automata; geographic information systems; transportation; 3D terrains; Autobahn 7; Germany; Nylon terrains; Physarum polycephalum; Route 20; USA; bioinspired amorphous robotic devices; cellular automaton models; cellular slime mould; decision making; information processing; man-made transport routes; protoplasmic routes; sensorial fusion; Automata; Cities and towns; Computers; Electron tubes; Laboratories; Substrates; Autobahn 7; German; USA; route 20; transport routes; unconventional computing;
fLanguage :
English
Journal_Title :
Cybernetics, IEEE Transactions on
Publisher :
ieee
ISSN :
2168-2267
Type :
jour
DOI :
10.1109/TCYB.2013.2248359
Filename :
6482606
Link To Document :
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