Artificial cell division.

After a survey of the theory and some realizations of self-replicating machines, this paper presents a novel self-replicating loop endowed with universal construction and computation properties. Based on the hardware implementation of the so-called Tom Thumb algorithm, the design of this loop leads to a new kind of cellular automaton made of a processing and a control units. The self-replication of the Swiss flag serves as an artificial cell division example of the loop which, according to autopoietic evaluation criteria, corresponds to a cell showing the phenomenology of a living system.

POEtic: an electronic tissue for bio-inspired cellular applications.

In this paper, we introduce the general architecture of a new electronic tissue called POEtic. This reconfigurable circuit is designed to ease the implementation of bio-inspired systems that bring cellular applications into play. It contains special features that allow a developer to realize systems that require evolution (Phylogenesis), development (Ontogenesis), and/or learning (Epigenesis). A dynamic routing algorithm has been added to a structure similar to that of common commercial FPGAs, in order to allow the creation of data paths between cells. As the creation of these paths is dynamic, it is possible to add new cells or to repair faulty ones at runtime.

Bio-inspired computing tissues: towards machines that evolve, grow, and learn.

Biological inspiration in the design of computing machines could allow the creation of new machines with promising characteristics such as fault-tolerance, self-replication or cloning, reproduction, evolution, adaptation and learning, and growth. The aim of this paper is to introduce bio-inspired computing tissues that might constitute a key concept for the implementation of 'living' machines. We first present a general overview of bio-inspired systems and the POE model that classifies bio-inspired machines along three axes. The Embryonics project--inspired by some of the basic processes of molecular biology--is described by means of the BioWatch application, a fault-tolerant and self-repairable watch. The main characteristics of the Embryonics project are the multicellular organization, the cellular differentiation, and the self-repair capabilities. The BioWall is intended as a reconfigurable computing tissue, capable of interacting with its environment by means of a large number of touch-sensitive elements coupled with a color display. For illustrative purposes, a large-scale implementation of the BioWatch on the BioWall's computational tissue is presented. We conclude the paper with a description of bio-inspired computing tissues and POEtic machines.