Japanese Researchers Create A Crab-Based Computer

mikejuk writes "You can build a computer out of all sorts of things — mechanical components, vacuum tubes, transistors, fluids and ... crabs. Researchers at Kobe University in Japan have discovered that soldier crabs have behaviors suitable for implementing simple logic and hence — with enough crabs — you can achieve a complete computer. The Soldier crab Mictyris guinotae has a swarming behavior that is just right for simple logic gates (PDF). When two crab swarms collide they fuse to make a single swarm — and this is enough to build an OR gate."

You're a long way from a proof, buddy

[Anonymous Coward]

One of the hardest things about proving emergent automata to be equivalent to, for instance, Turing mahines, is not showing that specific operations can be duplicated. The hardest part is showing that the thing doesn't degenerate when more complex interactions are necessary.

If they could build more than just a simple gate -- say, a flip flop, I would be more impressed.