As computers and the tasks they perform become increasingly
complex, researchers are looking to nature -- as model and as
metaphor -- for inspiration. The organization and behavior of
biological organisms present scientists with an invitation to
reinvent computing for the complex tasks of the future. In
Imitation of Life, Nancy Forbes surveys the emerging field of
biologically inspired computing, looking at some of the most
impressive and influential examples of this fertile synergy.Forbes
points out that the influence of biology on computing goes back to
the early days of computer science -- John von Neumann, the
architect of the first digital computer, used the human brain as
the model for his design. Inspired by von Neumann and other early
visionaries, as well as by her work on the "Ultrascale Computing"
project at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA),
Forbes describes the exciting potential of these revolutionary new
technologies. She identifies three strains of biologically inspired
computing: the use of biology as a metaphor or inspiration for the
development of algorithms; the construction of information
processing systems that use biological materials or are modeled on
biological processes, or both; and the effort to understand how
biological organisms "compute," or process information.Forbes then
shows us how current researchers are using these approaches. In
successive chapters, she looks at artificial neural networks;
evolutionary and genetic algorithms, which search for the "fittest"
among a generation of solutions; cellular automata; artificial life
-- not just a simulation, but "alive" in the internal ecosystem of
the computer; DNA computation, which uses the encoding capability
of DNA to devise algorithms; self-assembly and its potential use in
nanotechnology; amorphous computing, modeled on the kind of
cooperation seen in a colony of cells or a swarm of bees; computer
immune systems; bio-hardware and how bioelectronics compares to
silicon; and the "computational" properties of cells.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
