Abstract:
The current state of affairs in the field of using polymer hydrogels for the creation of
innovative systems for signal and image processing, of which computing is a special case, is analyzed. Both of these specific examples of systems capable of forming an alternative to the existing
semiconductor-based computing technology, but assuming preservation of the used algorithmic basis,
and non-trivial signal converters, the nature of which requires transition to fundamentally different
algorithms of data processing, are considered. It is shown that the variability of currently developed
information processing systems based on the use of polymers, including polymer hydrogels, leads
to the need to search for complementary algorithms. Moreover, the well-known thesis that modern
polymer science allows for the realization of functional materials with predetermined properties, at
the present stage, receives a new sounding: it is acceptable to raise the question of creating systems
built on a quasi-biological basis and realizing predetermined algorithms of information or image processing. Specific examples that meet this thesis are considered, in particular, promising information
protection systems for UAV groups, as well as systems based on the coupling of neural networks
with holograms that solve various applied problems. These and other case studies demonstrate the
importance of interdisciplinary cooperation for solving problems arising from the need for further
modernization of signal processing systems.
