A gel-like material that can carry out pattern recognition could be a major step toward
"materials that compute," with possible applications for "smart" clothing or sensing skins for robots, according to a new study.
Recent advances in both materials and computer science have prompted researchers to look beyond standard silicon-based electronics and exploit the inherent properties of materials to create systems where the material itself is the computer.
Now, a team from the University of Pittsburgh has designed a material that can solve pattern-recognition problems using changes in the oscillations of a chemically powered gel that pulsates like a heart. [Bionic Humans: Top 10 Technologies] https://www.livescience.com/55992-gel-material-that-computes.html
