Reservoir Computing with Cellular Automata (ReCA) is a promising concept by virtue of its potential for efficient hardware implementation and theoretical understanding of Cellular Auotmata (CA). However, ReCA has so far only been studied in exploratory studies. In this work, we take a more in depth view of the landscape of Elementary Cellular Automata for Reservoir Computing. In this paper, the ReCA is applied to the X-bit memory benchmark with a thorough exploration for key parameters including number of random mappings ( R ), number of bits ( N b ) and size of the vector that the random mapping is mapped to ( L d ). Our evidence shows that the parameter space, including the full panoply of CA rules, is much richer then what previous evidence indicates. This suggests that some CA rules would require careful consideration and custom parameters setup.

In the Gathering of the Hive project, the societal and ecological implications, as well as technological possibilities of swarm robotics are explored through artistic methodology applied to Artificial Life. These matters are examined through an algorithm inspired by the clustering behaviour of honeybees applied to a swarm of Thymio robots interacting in a physical, changing environment. This work is a part of the ongoing FELT project (Futures of Living Technologies), which explores artificial life systems through art and technology.

The human brain is a remarkable computing machine, i.e. vastly parallel, self-organizing, robust, and energy efficient. To gain a better understanding into how the brain works, a cyborg (cybernetic organism, a combination of machine and living tissue) is currently being made in an interdisciplinary effort, known as the Cyborg project. In this paper we describe how living cultures of neurons (biological neural networks) are successfully grown in-vitro over Micro-Electrode Arrays (MEAs), which allow them to be interfaced to a robotic body through electrical stimulation and neural recordings. Furthermore, we describe the bio- and nano-technological procedures utilized for the culture of such dissociated neural networks and the interface software and hardware framework used for creating a closed-loop hybrid neuro-system. A Reservoir Computing (RC) approach is used to harness the computational power of the neuronal culture.