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The Grand Challenges in Natural Computing Research

Leandro Nunes de CastroLnunes@mackenzie.br

@lndecastro

Computing and Informatics Faculty &Graduate Program in Electrical Engineering

Natural Computing Laboratory (LCoN)www.mackenzie.br/lcon.html

BRACIS 2012: Brazilian Conference on Intelligent Systems, Curitiba, Brazil, October, 2012

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Natural ComputingAn Overview*

* de Castro, L. N. (2007), “Fundamentals of Natural Computing: An Overview”, Physics of Life Reviews, 4(1), pp. 1-36.

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• 1940s: Study of automatic computing;• 1950s: Study of information processing;• 1960s: Study of phenomena surrounding

computers;• 1970s: Study of what can be automated;• 1980s: Study of computation;• 2000s: Study of information processes, both

natural and artificial.

Computing: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow*

* Denning, P. (2008), “Computing Field: Structure”, In B. Wah (Ed.), Wiley Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Engineering, Wiley Interscience.

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From the early days of computer science, by the 1940s, researchers

have been interested in tracing parallels and designing computational

models and abstractions of natural phenomena.

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Separation Alignment Cohesion

Behavioral Synthesis

Extensão de Polimerase Ligação

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Extensão de Polimerase Destruição da molécula original

Universal Computer

Theoretical Works

Empirical Works

Natural Computing

Mathematical Models

Bioinspiration

Computational Synthesis of Natural

Phenomena

Computing with Natural Materials

Natural Computing: The Old View

Natural Computing: The New Perspective

Natural Computing

Computer Modeling of

Nature

Nature-Inspired Computing

Computer Synthesis of

Natural Phenomena

Computing with New Materials

Natural computing is a

science concerned with

the investigation and design of information

processing in natural and

computational systems.

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Natural Computing

The Grand Challenges*

* de Castro, L. N.; Xavier, R. S.; Pasti, R.; Maia, R. D.; Szabo, A.; Ferrari, D. G. (2012), "The Grand Challenges in Natural Computing Research: The Quest for a New Science", Int. J. Nat. Comp. Res., 2(4), p. 16.

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The GCs aim at defining research questions that tend to be important in the long term, identifying and characterizing potential grand research problems. These may allow the formulation of projects capable of producing major scientific advancements, with practical applications for society and technology. Emphasis is in advancing science, a vision beyond specific projects, a clear and objective success evaluation and a great ambition.*

The Grand Challenges (GCs)

* www.sbc.org.br

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Natural Computing

Biology

Physics

Chemistry

Computer Science

Natural Computing

Biology

Physics

Chemistry

Computer Science

Multidisciplinarity

Interdisciplinarity

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Transd

isciplin

arity

Natural Computing

Biology

Physics

Chemistry

Computer Science

GC 1: Transforming Natural Computing into a transdisciplinary discipline

How to transpose Natural Computing into a

transdisciplinary context?

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“Computer science differs from physics in that it is not actually a science. It does not study natural

objects. Neither is it mathematics. It’s like engineering – about getting to do something, rather than dealing with

abstractions”.*“Biology is today an information

science”*** Feynman, R. P. (1996), “The Feynman Lectures on Computation”, In A. J. G. Hey and R. W. Allen (Ed.), (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley).** Denning, P. J., (2001) (Ed.), The Invisible Future: The Seamless Integration of Technology in Everyday Life, McGraw-Hill.

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What is the Natural Computing role in this Informational Natural Sciences Era?

Overcoming this challenge will bring two important benefits to Computing and Nature:• A Rethinking (and probably Redesign) of Computing• A New Form of Interacting With and Using Nature

GC 2: Unveiling and harnessing information processing in natural systems

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Natural systems are open systems that communicate with the environment presenting a complex and emergent

behavior. Complex biological systems must be modeled as self-referential, self-

organizing, and auto-generative systems whose computational behavior goes far

beyond the TM/VN paradigm. The system restructures itself in a hardware-software non-dissociable interaction: the hardware

defines the software, and the software defines the hardware.

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Are there standards to design natural computing systems?* To what degree defining

standards for the engineering of Natural Computing systems is a limiting factor for the

creative development of the field?

GC 3: Engineering Natural Computing Systems.

* Brueckner, S. A.; Serugendo, G. D. M.; Karageorgos, A.; Nagpal, R., (2005), Engineering Self-Organizing Systems, Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, 3464, Springer.* de Castro, L. N. (2001), Immune Engineering: Development and Application of Computational Tools Inspired by Artificial Immune Systems, Ph. D. Thesis presented at the Computer and Electrical Engineering School, Unicamp, Brazil. * Fernandez-Marquez, J. L.; Serugendo, G. D. M.; Montagna, S.; Viroli M.; Arcos J. L (2012), “Description and Composition of Bio-Inspired Design Patterns: A Complete Overview”, Natural Computing, Online, DOI 10.1007/s11047-012-9324-y.* Nagpal, R.; Mamei, M. (2004), “Engineering Amorphous Computing Systems”, Multiagent Systems, Artificial Societies, and Simulated Organizations, 11, Part V, pp. 303-320.

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• The field needs to advance in a more consistent and formal way.

• Transforming Natural Computing into a Transdisciplinary Discipline.

• Unveiling and Harnessing Information Processing in Natural Systems.

• Engineering Natural Computing Systems.

The Grand Challenges in Natural Computing Research

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Discussion

Natural Computing: The Past, Present and Future

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• Focus on:– Designing novel nature-inspired algorithms.– Synthesizing natural phenomena.– Using natural materials for computing.

• Real-world applications are unquestionable, but the field seems to be stuck on the same types of algorithms.

• Researchers are taking efforts to look at and formalize information processing in natural and computational systems.*

The Past and Present

* Zenil, H. (2012) (Ed.), A Computable Universe: Understanding Computation & Exploring Nature as Computation, World Scientific.

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• Grand Challenges for the field:– Transforming Natural Computing into a

Transdisciplinary Discipline.– Unveiling and Harnessing Information Processing

in Natural Systems.– Engineering Natural Computing Systems.

And the Future?

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Thank You!Questions? Comments?

Leandro Nunes de CastroLnunes@mackenzie.br

http://slideshare.net/lndecastro @lndecastro

www.mackenzie.br/lcon.html www.computacaonatural.com.br