Algorithmic Foundations of Programmable Matter

Motivation

“Algorithmic Foundations of Programmable Matter” is an area that designs models and algorithms for materials that can change their physical properties in a programmable fashion or based on external stimuli. Many research areas have already been brought together, with connections to distributed computing, computational geometry, self-assembly, and swarm robotics, but the number of problems that have been identified so far is limited.

In this Dagstuhl Seminar, we will significantly broaden the range of problems by seeking inspiration from researchers in areas where programmable matter promises to have a major impact in the future: engineering, physics and biological systems. Each of these areas also has its specific characteristics and challenges, making them particularly interesting for this seminar: physics with its very small components, space technologies and engineering with their extremely large structures, and biology with its extremely complex structures. As a second objective, we will intensify interactions between communities towards concrete outcomes, which was successfully initiated during the previous Dagstuhl Seminar "Algorithmic Foundations of Programmable Matter" (18331).