Learning from nature
At “Organic computing” IT researchers orient themselves on insect colonies, for example.
On average, German motorists spend 39 hours a year stuck in traffic. This is also down to traffic lights that run on pre-set programmes – largely independently of traffic flow. Would it not make more sense to develop intelligent systems that can flexibly adapt and maybe even are able to learn? That was the idea of the researchers at the interdisciplinary research initiative “Organic Computing”. One of them is Christian Müller-Schloer, Professor at the University of Hanover: “We are trying to transfer mechanisms of complex systems we observe in nature to technology”, says Müller-Schloer. One model is the self-organized routes taken by ants. “When ants happen to discover a source of food and find the shortest route to their nest in only a short time, we have to wonder: How do they manage it, despite the limitations to their sensory perception?”
Systems adjust on their own
Organic computing investigates this question. To this end, the researchers imitate natural systems that organize, optimize and heal themselves. The researchers transfer these so-called ‘self-x properties’ from natural systems to technological ones. In Darmstadt for instance, traffic lights are planned for mid-2016 that respond intelligently to the traffic.
Yet organic computing, goes beyond traffic management. At the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) IT experts, electrical engineers and a neurophysiologist are busy working on a self-determined manufacturing robot. Instead of simply running a work programme, the machine is intended to analyse the situation and then decide what to do. With the help of spontaneous networking, autonomous robots could form federations to complete the tasks at hand. If parts of systems fail or are overloaded, swarm robots can recognise that and redistribute the tasks.
IT trade fair CeBIT from 14 to 18 March in Hanover
