On computing in fine-grained compartmentalised Belousov–Zhabotinsky medium

We introduce results of computer experiments on information processing in a hexagonal array of vesicles filled with Belousov–Zhabotinsky (BZ) solution in a sub-excitable mode. We represent values of Boolean variables by excitation wave-fragments and implement basic logical gates by colliding the wave-fragments. We show that a vesicle filled with BZ mixture can implement a range of basic logical functions. We cascade BZ-vesicle logical gates into arithmetic circuits implementing addition of two one-bit binary numbers. We envisage that our theoretical results will be applied in chemical laboratory designs of massive-parallel computers based on fine-grained compartmentalisation of excitable chemical systems.

► A hexagonal array of vesicles filled with Belousov–Zhabotinsky mixture computes.
► Values of Boolean variables are represented by excitation wave-fragments.
► Vesicles implement basic logical gates by colliding the wave-fragments.
► Vesicle logical gates are cascaded into a one-bit binary adder.