All-Optical Reinforcement Learning In Solitonic X-Junctions

Sci Rep. 2018 Apr 9;8(1):5716. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-24084-w.

Abstract

Ethology has shown that animal groups or colonies can perform complex calculation distributing simple decision-making processes to the group members. For example ant colonies can optimize the trajectories towards the food by performing both a reinforcement (or a cancellation) of the pheromone traces and a switch from one path to another with stronger pheromone. Such ant's processes can be implemented in a photonic hardware to reproduce stigmergic signal processing. We present innovative, completely integrated X-junctions realized using solitonic waveguides which can provide both ant's decision-making processes. The proposed X-junctions can switch from symmetric (50/50) to asymmetric behaviors (80/20) using optical feedbacks, vanishing unused output channels or reinforcing the used ones.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Ants / metabolism
  • Ants / physiology*
  • Behavior, Animal / physiology*
  • Decision Making
  • Feedback, Physiological
  • Pheromones / metabolism*
  • Reinforcement, Psychology
  • Spatial Learning

Substances

  • Pheromones