Daniel Mange

CONFETTI : A reconfigurable hardware platform for prototyping cellular architectures

In this article, we describe a novel hardware platform aimed at the realization of cellular architectures. The system is built hierarchically from a very simple computing unit, called ECell. Several of these units can then be connected, using a high-speed serial communication protocol, to a more complex structure called the UltraStack. Consisting of four different kinds of interconnected boards (computational, routing, power supply, and display), these stacks can then be joined together to form an arbitrarily large parallel network of programmable circuits. This structure, while theoretically universal in its operation, is however particularly suited for the implementation of cellular computing applications.

Embryonic machines that grow, self-replicate and self-repair

After a reminder about embryonic machines endowed with universal construction and universal computation properties, this paper presents a novel architecture providing additional self-repairing capabilities. Based on the hardware implementation of the so-called Tom Thumb algorithm, the design of this machine leads to a new kind of cellular automaton made of a processing unit and a control unit. The corresponding hardware implementation results from a new and straightforward methodology for the design of self-replicating and self-repairing computing machines of any dimensions.

Bio-inspired computing architectures: the embryonics approach

The promise of next-generation computer technologies, such as nano-electronics, implies a number of serious alterations to the design flow of digital circuits. One of the most serious issues is related to circuit layout, as conventional lithographic techniques do not scale to the molecular level. A second important issue concerns fault tolerance: molecular-scale devices will be subject to fault densities that are orders of magnitude greater than silicon-based circuits. In our work, we are investigating a different approach to the design of complex computing systems, inspired by the developmental process of multi-cellular organisms in nature. This approach has led us to define a hierarchical system based on several levels of complexity, ranging from the molecule (modeled by an element of a programmable logic device when the system is applied to silicon) to the organism, defined as an application-specific multi-processor system. By setting aside some of the conventional circuit design priorities, namely size and (to a certain extent) performance, we are able to design fully scalable systems endowed with some properties not commonly found in digital circuits. Most notably, by exploiting a hierarchical self-repair approach, our systems are able to tolerate higher fault densities, whereas a self-replication mechanism allows our arrays of processing elements to self-organize, greatly reducing the layout complexity of the system.

A novel platform for complex bio-inspired architectures

Cellular architectures represent the natural approach to apply bio-inspired mechanisms to the world of digital hardware. To derive any useful property (in terms of computation) from these mechanisms, however, it is necessary to examine systems that are large enough to pose problems for conventional design methodologies. Moreover, implementing these mechanisms in actual hardware is the only way to ensure that they are efficient from a computational standpoint. The realization of this kind of systems, however, requires resources that are both quantitatively and qualitatively different from conventional, off-the-shelf platforms. In this article, we describe a novel hardware platform aimed at the realization of cellular architectures. The system is built hierarchically from a very simple computing unit, called ECell. Several of these units can then be connected, using a high-speed serial communication protocol, to a more complex structure called the EStack. Consisting of four different kinds of interconnected boards (computational, routing, power supply, and display), these stacks can then be joined together to form an arbitrarily large parallel network of programmable circuits

Bio-Inspired Computing Machines with Artificial Division and Differentiation

In order to design computing machines able to self-repair and self-replicate, we have borrowed from nature two major mechanisms which are embedded in silicon: cell division and cell differentiation. Based on the so-called Tom Thumb algorithm, cellular division leads to a novel self-replicating loop endowed with universal construction. The self-replication of the totipotent cell of the “LSL” acronym serves as an artificial cell division example of the loop and results in the growth and differentiation of a multicellular organism.