Course details

Evolutionary and Unconventional Hardware

EUD Acad. year 2018/2019 Summer semester

Current academic year

This course introduces computational models and computers which have appeared at the intersection of hardware and artificial intelligence in the recent years as an attempt to solve traditionally hard computational problems. The course surveys relevant theoretical models, reconfigurable architectures and computational intelligence techniques inspired at the levels of phylogeny, ontogeny and epigenesis. In particular, the following topics will be discussed: evolutionary design, evolvable hardware, embryonic electronics, neural hardware, DNA computing and nanotechnology. Typical applications will illustrate the mentioned approaches.

Guarantor

Sekanina Lukáš, prof. Ing., Ph.D. (DCSY)

Language of instruction

Czech, English

Completion

Examination (oral)

Time span

  • 26 hrs lectures

Assessment points

  • 100 pts final exam

Department

Department of Computer Systems (UPSY)

Lecturer

Sekanina Lukáš, prof. Ing., Ph.D. (DCSY)

Instructor

Sekanina Lukáš, prof. Ing., Ph.D. (DCSY)

Subject specific learning outcomes and competences

Students will be able to utilize evolutionary algorithms to design electronic circuits. They will be able to model, simulate and implement non-conventional, in particular bio-inspired, computational systems.
Understanding the relation between computers (computing) and some natural processes.

Learning objectives

To understand the principles of bio-inspired and unconventional computational systems. To be able to use the bio-inspired and other unconventional techniques in the phase of design, implementation and runtime of a computational device.

Study literature

  • Floreano, D., Mattiussi, C.: Bioinspired Artificial Intelligence: Theories, Methods, and Technologies. The MIT Press, Cambridge 2008, ISBN 978-0-262-06271-8
  • Mařík et al.: Umělá inteligence IV, Academia, 2003, 480 s., ISBN 80-200-1044-0
  • Greenwood, G., Tyrrell, A.: Introduction to Evolvable Hardware. A Practical Guide for Designing Self-Adaptive Systems. IEEE Press Series on Computational Intelligence, 2006, ISBN 0-471-71977-3
  • Sekanina L., Vašíček Z., Růžička R., Bidlo M., Jaroš J., Švenda P.: Evoluční hardware: Od automatického generování patentovatelných invencí k sebemodifikujícím se strojům (http://www.academia.cz/evolucni-hardware.html). Academia Praha 2009, ISBN 978-80-200-1729-1
  • Higuchi, T., Liu, Y., Yao, X.: Evolvable Hardware. Springer Verlag, 2006, ISBN: 0-387-24386-0

Syllabus of lectures

  1. Introduction: Traditional models of computation, their limits and super-Turing computing
  2. Computer hardware, implementation limits
  3. Natural computing: inspiration, computational platforms, classification
  4. Reconfigurable devices
  5. Cartesian genetic programming
  6. Evolutionary design of digital circuits
  7. Evolvable hardware
  8. Computational development, cellular automata, L-systems
  9. Embryonal electronics
  10. Neural hardware
  11. Nanotechnology and molecular electronics
  12. DNA computing
  13. Recent trends

Controlled instruction

Elaboration and presentation of a project.

Course inclusion in study plans

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