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Sci Rep

Title:		All-Optical Implementation of the Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm
Author(s):		Hu W; Wu K; Shum PP; Zheludev NI; Soci C;
Address:		"Centre for Disruptive Photonic Technologies, TPI, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, 637371, Singapore. School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, SINGAPORE. State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Communication Systems and Networks, Department of Electronic Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 200240, China. Optoelectronics Research Centre, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK"
Journal Title:		Sci Rep
Year:		2016
Volume:		20160525
Issue:
Page Number:		26283 -
DOI:		10.1038/srep26283
ISSN/ISBN:		2045-2322 (Electronic) 2045-2322 (Linking)
Abstract:		"We report all-optical implementation of the optimization algorithm for the famous 'ant colony' problem. Ant colonies progressively optimize pathway to food discovered by one of the ants through identifying the discovered route with volatile chemicals (pheromones) secreted on the way back from the food deposit. Mathematically this is an important example of graph optimization problem with dynamically changing parameters. Using an optical network with nonlinear waveguides to represent the graph and a feedback loop, we experimentally show that photons traveling through the network behave like ants that dynamically modify the environment to find the shortest pathway to any chosen point in the graph. This proof-of-principle demonstration illustrates how transient nonlinearity in the optical system can be exploited to tackle complex optimization problems directly, on the hardware level, which may be used for self-routing of optical signals in transparent communication networks and energy flow in photonic systems"
Keywords:		"*Algorithms Animal Communication Animals Ants/*physiology Behavior, Animal/physiology Computer Simulation Feeding Behavior/physiology Models, Biological Optical Fibers Optical Phenomena Pheromones/physiology;"
Notes:		"MedlineHu, Wenchao Wu, Kan Shum, Perry Ping Zheludev, Nikolay I Soci, Cesare eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2016/05/26 Sci Rep. 2016 May 25; 6:26283. doi: 10.1038/srep26283"