Technological development in robotics, computing architectures and devices,
and information storage systems, in one single word: cybernetic systems, has
progressed according to a jeopardized connection scheme, difficult if not
impossible to track and picture in all its streams. Aim of this progress report is to
critically introduce the most relevant limits and present a promising paradigm
that might bring new momentum, offering features that naturally and elegantly
overcome current challenges and introduce several other advantages: liquid
cybernetic systems. The topic describing the four orders of cybernetic systems
identified so far is introduced, evidencing the features of the fourth order that
includes liquid systems. Then, current limitations to the development of conventional, von Neumann-based cybernetic systems are briefly discussed: device
integration, thermal design, data throughput, and energy consumption. In the
following sections, liquid-state machines are introduced, providing a computational paradigm (free from in materio considerations) that goes into the direction
of solving such issues. Two original in materio implementation schemes are
proposed: the COlloIdal demonsTratOR (COgITOR) autonomous robot, and a
soft holonomic processor that is also proposed to realize an autolographic
system.
4th order Cybernetics
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