A complex material or physical system can behave in several
different ways: (1) it can settle into a stable state (Class I
behavior), (2) it can exhibit simple periodic behavior or oscillation
(Class II), (3) it can act chaotically, like a turbulent fluid (Class
III), or (4), most importantly, it can exhibit behavior between Classes
II and III, that is, more complex than simple oscillation but more
orderly that chaos; therefore this class of behavior is often called
the “edge of chaos” (Class IV). Class IV systems are considered
suitable for computation because they exhibit long-range interactions
(which can be used for communication), numerous semi-stable states
(which can be used for memory), and other desirable characteristics.
Therefore, the search for new computational technologies
concentrates on Class IV systems, and nanotechnology is developing many
new materials and structures that exhibit complex (Class IV) behavior,
which might be suitable for computation. Unfortunately, just because a
physical system exhibits Class IV behavior does not imply that we know
how to use it for useful computation. Given a material or physical
system with sufficiently rich behavior, how can we apply it to specific
computational problems?
The purpose of this project is to develop software to test one
particular approach to using a complex material for useful
computation. We will use cellular automata (similar to the
familiar “Game of Life”) to model Class IV materials, and use a variant
of a neural net learning algorithm in order to determine how to
initialize a CA (cellular automaton) to accomplish a specified
task. You will need to program the simulator for the CA,
implement the learning algorithm (which I will provide), and test it on
several simple computational tasks.
For more information on this project, please send me mail or make an appointment to discuss it.
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