Slime computes freeways systems

We've posted before about researchers exploring slime molds as a kind of bio-computer capable of some amazing accomplishments in information processing. Recently, computer scientist Andrew Adamtzky of the University of the West of England in Bristol and his colleagues used a slime mold to devise optimal interstate highway systems for the United States, Britain, Mexico, Brazil, the Netherlands, and Canada (above). He will detail his latest slime systems in a forthcoming issue of the scientific journal Complex Systems, "devoted to the science, mathematics, and engineering of systems with simple components but complex overall behavior." For a teaser, check out Adamatzky's recent op-ed in the New York Times, titled "The Wisdom of Slime."

David Pescovitz is Boing Boing's co-editor/managing partner. He's also a research director at Institute for the Future. On Instagram, he's @pesco.

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http://www.facebook.com/adam.carpentieri Adam Carpentieri

brilliant!!!
theophrastvs

how is this different from the sorts of Steiner points that one can get with dipping a framework (such as depicted above) into a bubble solution (which then produces a minimum surface)? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steiner_tree_problem

“cuz slime mo[u]lds are far cooler than bubbles!” …well that’s true.
- retchdog
  
  it might be easier to induce topographical weighting, by controlling the distribution of the initial population, or tweaking parameters (light, food, antifungals) to keep growth concentrated/attenuated in certain areas.
  
  but yeah, i doubt slime molds are going to do anything that a humdrum computer optimization can’t. complexity “science” seems to be about being able to say that your “experiments” look cool.
  - niten
    
    Well…I mean, I’m not sure they’re suggesting that we should start using slime mold to plan our road systems. But it’s still interesting to point out that, hey, there are striking similarities between the spread of humans and of slime mold. Or, more generally, that networks of many kinds tend to resemble one another in interesting ways.
    - retchdog
      
      i guess i’ve finally become a jaded academic; if it’s all the same, then why bother repeating the process?
      
      i was once inspired by this stuff. i was happier then.
http://www.facebook.com/patrick.sklar Patrick J Sklar

This is very cool – also, that seems to depict a slime-covered Canada, not Netherlands
- GeekMan
  
  As a Dutch-Canadian, I’m gonna have to do a double-facepalm on this one…
  - David Pescovitz
    
    Yeah, editing error. Argh. Thanks.
http://repeaterband.com skeletoncityrepeater

“internet highway systems” or “interstate highway systems”? Very cool regardless. True that we already have graph theory and stuff, but biological computers are so much neater.
- David Pescovitz
  
  ooops! thanks.
http://www.facebook.com/mike.polding Mike Polding

According to that slime mold, we should lay down the inter-tubes several times around the coast of Canada. Not sure what purpose that would serve, but the Slime Mold Speaks and we shall obey! :)
kartwaffles

Yep. That highway running from Yukon, through Nunavut and across the top of Hudson bay into northern Quebec looks SUPER efficient.
J Gostick

To make this actually representative, they’ll have to try this on a topographically correct map, otherwise you’ll just end up blasting dozens of new holes in the Rockies.
- awjt
  
  I bet that additional simulation features could be included: topography, temperature gradients in the form of cooler zones on the plate, etc.
  - Beanolini
    
    Some of these slime mould studies use salt or light to repel them- in theory, it would be possible to build an experiment with salt or light gradients to represent topographical or economic factors that might prevent road building.
    - awjt
      
      salty partially frozen marshmallows to simulate permafrost :)
- Craig Hartel
  
  You got that right. Most of the “highways” are north of the 60th parallel where almost nobody lives, and there are thousands of lakes, bogs, marshes, swamps, muskeg and every other bit of ground that sucks for road building. Winter ice roads aren’t even as good as they used to be due to climate change. Slime molds might network like frogs take to water, but as designers of highway or other networking systems – they suck ballz.
http://twitter.com/feenicks Feenicks

My cousins husband does research in this type of stuff.
Ants solving the Towers of Hanoi:http://sydney.edu.au/news/sobs/1699.html?newscategoryid=173&newsstoryid=6164
http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/3179142.htm

Now it seems he’s getting slime to do it:
http://sydney.edu.au/science/biology/social_insects/people/chris_reid.shtml
noah django

can we not at least pay lip-service to a more sustainable transport network? rail? high-speed rail? maglev? something? must everything begin and end with cars? because they and their infrastructure really suck.

the slime-mold networking model seems pretty neat in-and-of-itself, though.