A fundamental assumption of Artificial Life is that living processes can be supported by different material. An obvious question that follows is how the fundamental blueprint for living processes is determined by its material basis. This is the question we explore here as we compare and contrast the functional blueprints of a recently implemented protocellular (chemical) system (Kurihara et al., 2015) and a hypothetical self-replicating and self-assembling 3D printer (robotics) system (Buch & Rasmussen, 2014). The method we use to conduct this analysis is a graphical grammar originally developed to compare and contrast chemical protocellular systems (Rasmussen et al., 2008). So a secondary question we explore is whether this graphical grammar can be utilized for more general minimal living systems. We show that the developed grammar can generate transparent, graphical, functional blueprints although minor interpretation adjustments have to be made depending on the underlying material basis and scale. However, the needed level of abstraction required for keeping the diagrams directly understandable results in important information loss, thus calling for critical supportive information about the systems. We further conclude that the diagrams highlight obvious similarities as well as key differences between systems of different material basis and scale. Therefore we argue these diagrams are useful when exploring minimal living systems in particular when sharing knowledge across scientific disciplines.

We simulate the dynamics of silicon microchips of size 100x100 μm2 with active electronic sensing and actuation reacting in a chemical environment. As the microchips can both excrete chemicals and follow chemical gradients they can self-organize into swarms. As the chip swarm generates a well-defined concentration profile, a steady state structure balancing production, diffusion and decay, we may interpret the microchip swarm as a protocellular container without walls. The protocellular information controls are programmed into the individual chip’s finite state-machine. The energy stored by the chip’s supercapacitor drives the metabolism, which maintains the swarm and a well-defined local chemical environment. For each chip the onboard energy is used to power the control of chemical reaction, the motility as well as the internal finite state machine. With this physics-based simulation, we demonstrate self-replication control dynamics and resource feeding, and we develop a sustained replication life cycle for hybrid protocell populations composed of swarming microchip in a chemical reaction diffusion field.

In the paper we review lessons learned about two major evolutionary transition from a bottom up construction of protocells. We use a particular systemic protocell design process as a starting point for exploring two fundamental questions: (1) how may minimal living systems emerge from nonliving materials? - and (2) how may minimal living systems support open-ended evolutionary richness?

This paper describes possible applications of a two dimensional array of programmable electrochemically active elements to Alife. The array has been developed as part of the MICRE-Agents project, and after several design phases, is now a mature enough device for general use beyond the project. Here we describe the general properties of the device based on the first two design phases, some of its capabilities, including portable experimentation, and discuss its potential application to ALife and in education.

Throughout history, whenever new technologies have emerged that change our means of production and ability to communicate they have tended to transform society. Spearheaded by digitization, followed by emerging living and intelligent technologies, our world is currently being transformed into something we have difficulty imagining. The transition is likely similar in scale to what we experienced moving from an agriculturally based society to the industrial society, although it will occur at a much faster pace. I present key qualities of our emerging societal transition, discuss underpinning scientific issues, and propose a way the scientific community could engage. Finally, I document how part the European Commission, the Danish Parliament and Press as well as interested stakeholders engage (or not) in the process of creating a brave new world.