Collision-based Computing

International audienceCollision-based computing is an implementation of logical circuits, mathematical machines or other computing and information processing devices in homogeneous uniform unstructured media with traveling mobile localizations. A quanta of information is represented by a compact propagating pattern (glider in cellular automata, soliton in optical system, wave-fragment in excitable chemical system). Logical truth corresponds to presence of the localization, logical false to absence of the localization; logical values can be also represented by a particular state of the localization. When two more or more traveling localizations collide they change their velocity vectors and/or states. Post-collision trajectories and/or states of the localizations represent results of a logical operations implemented by the collision. One of the principle advantages of the a collision-based computing medium —hidden in 1D systems but obvious in 2D and 3D media— is that the medium is architecture-less: nothing is hardwired, there are no stationary wires or gates, a trajectory of a propagating information quanta can be see as a momentary wire. We introduce basics of collision-based computing, and overview the collision-based computing schemes in 1D and 2D cellular automata and continuous excitable media. Also we provide an overview of collision-based schemes where particles/collisions are dimensionless

Implementation of Logical Functions in the Game of Life

The Game of Life cellular automaton is a classical example of a massively parallel collision-based computing device. The automaton exhibits mobile patterns, gliders, and generators of the mobile patterns, glider guns, in its evolution. We show how to construct basic logical perations, AND, OR, NOT in space-time configurations of the cellular automaton. Also decomposition of complicated Boolean functions is discussed. Advantages of our technique are demonstrated on an example of binary adder, realized via collision of glider streams

Vehicular Fog Computing Enabled Real-time Collision Warning via Trajectory Calibration

Vehicular fog computing (VFC) has been envisioned as a promising paradigm for enabling a variety of emerging intelligent transportation systems (ITS). However, due to inevitable as well as non-negligible issues in wireless communication, including transmission latency and packet loss, it is still challenging in implementing safety-critical applications, such as real-time collision warning in vehicular networks. In this paper, we present a vehicular fog computing architecture, aiming at supporting effective and real-time collision warning by offloading computation and communication overheads to distributed fog nodes. With the system architecture, we further propose a trajectory calibration based collision warning (TCCW) algorithm along with tailored communication protocols. Specifically, an application-layer vehicular-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication delay is fitted by the Stable distribution with real-world field testing data. Then, a packet loss detection mechanism is designed. Finally, TCCW calibrates real-time vehicle trajectories based on received vehicle status including GPS coordinates, velocity, acceleration, heading direction, as well as the estimation of communication delay and the detection of packet loss. For performance evaluation, we build the simulation model and implement conventional solutions including cloud-based warning and fog-based warning without calibration for comparison. Real-vehicle trajectories are extracted as the input, and the simulation results demonstrate that the effectiveness of TCCW in terms of the highest precision and recall in a wide range of scenarios

Fast algorithms for computing the Boltzmann collision operator

The development of accurate and fast numerical schemes for the five fold Boltzmann collision integral represents a challenging problem in scientific computing. For a particular class of interactions, including the so-called hard spheres model in dimension three, we are able to derive spectral methods that can be evaluated through fast algorithms. These algorithms are based on a suitable representation and approximation of the collision operator. Explicit expressions for the errors in the schemes are given and spectral accuracy is proved. Parallelization properties and adaptivity of the algorithms are also discussed.Comment: 22 page

It's written in the cloud: The hype and promise of cloud computing

Purpose of paper: This viewpoint discusses the emerging IT platform of Cloud Computing and discusses where and how this has developed in terms of the collision between internet and enterprise computing paradigms – and hence why cloud computing will be driven not by computing architectures but more fundamental ICT consumption behaviours. Design/methodology/approach: The approach has been based upon the discussion and recent developments of Software as a Service (SaaS) and associated ICT computing metaphors and is largely based upon the contemporary discussion at the moment of the impact of social, open source and configurable technology services. Findings: It is suggested that whilst cloud computing and SaaS are indeed innovations within ICT, the real innovation will come when such platforms allow new industries, sectors, ways of doing business, connecting with and engaging with people to emerge. Thus looking beyond the technology itself. Research limitations/applications: Author viewpoint only, not research based. Practical applications: Brings together some of the recent discussions within the popular as well as business and computing press on social networking, open source and utility computing. Social implications: Suggests that cloud computing can potentially transform and change the way in which IS and IT are accessed, consumed, configured and used in daily life. Originality / value of paper: Author viewpoint on a contemporary subject

Computing Naturally in the Billiard Ball Model

Fredkin's Billiard Ball Model (BBM) is considered one of the fundamental models of collision-based computing, and it is essentially based on elastic collisions of mobile billiard balls. Moreover, fixed mirrors or reflectors are brought into the model to deflect balls to complete the computation. However, the use of fixed mirrors is "physically unrealistic" and makes the BBM not perfectly momentum conserving from a physical point of view, and it imposes an external architecture onto the computing substrate which is not consistent with the concept of "architectureless" in collision-based computing. In our initial attempt to reduce mirrors in the BBM, we present a class of gates: the m-counting gate, and show that certain circuits can be realized with few mirrors using this gate. We envisage that our findings can be useful in future research of collision-based computing in novel chemical and optical computing substrates.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure