A programmable hybrid digital chemical information processor based on the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction

This paper presents a hybrid digitally programmable chemical array as a probabilistic computational machine. It uses Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction oscillators partitioned in interconnected cells as a computational substrate, distributing information between chemical and digital domains with inbuilt error correction. Efficiency is achieved by combining digital logic with probabilistic chemical logic based on nearest-neighbor interactions and hysteresis effects. The researchers demonstrate computational capabilities by implementing one- and two-dimensional Chemical Cellular Automata (CCA), showcasing emergent dynamics of 'Chemits,' and solving combinatorial optimization problems using hybrid probabilistic logic.

Abhishek Sharma, Marcus Tze-Kiat Ng, Juan Manuel Parrilla Gutierrez, Yibin Jiang, Leroy Cronin