Blobotics is a term describing research into chemical-based computer processors based on

ions An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...

rather than

electrons The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family, and are generally thought to be elementary partic ...

Andrew Adamatzky Andrew Adamatzky is a British computer scientist, who is a Director of the Unconventional Computing Laboratory and Professor in Unconventional Computing at the Department of Computer Science and Creative Technology, University of the West of Engla ...

, a computer scientist at the

University of the West of England, Bristol The University of the West of England (also known as UWE Bristol) is a public research university, located in and around Bristol, England. The institution was know as the Bristol Polytechnic in 1970; it received university status in 1992 and ...

used the term in an article in ''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publish ...

'' March 28, 200

The aim is to create 'liquid logic gates' which would be 'infinitely reconfigurable and self-healing'. The process relies on the

Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction A Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction, or BZ reaction, is one of a class of reactions that serve as a classical example of non-equilibrium thermodynamics, resulting in the establishment of a nonlinear chemical oscillator. The only common element i ...

, a repeating cycle of three separate sets of reactions. Such a processor could form the basis of a

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be ...

which, using artificial sensors, interact with its surroundings in a way which mimics living creatures. The coining of the term was featured by ABC radio in Australiabr>

References

* Motoike I., Andrew Adamatzky, Adamatzky A. "Three-valued logic gates in reaction-diffusion excitable media." ''Chaos, Solitons & Fractals'' 24 (2005) 107-114 * Adamatzky, A. "Collision-based computing in Belousov–Zhabotinsky medium." ''Chaos, Solitons & Fractals'' 21:(5), (2004), p1259-1264 Robotics Classes of computers {{Robo-stub