The future of computing is … crabs?
Computer scientists at Kobe University in Japan built a crab computer—or a basic functioning set of simple processes called logic gates—with the help of groups of crustaceans.
Motivating the groups of crabs to move through geometrically constrained environments by mimicking the shadow of predatory birds, the scientists built AND, OR, and NOT logic gates. According to Wired, “The findings open up the possibility of creating an unconventional computing model where the zeros and ones are represented by the absence or presence of a swarm of crabs.”
Edible computers do sound pretty awesome—and you might need to eat a meal or two while waiting for a crab computer to load a simple website. But these soldiers were freed once the experiment was over. Some bits are better left in the ocean.
Video produced by Jim Festante.
