Venus Flytrap Biological Logic Gates for Ripple-Carry Ternary Biocomputer

Abstract

The responses of Mimosa pudica and Venus Flytraps to abiotic stimulation have been studied and applied in this research to biosensor devices and related logic systems. Via unique behavior and electrophysiological signals from Mimosa pudica and Venus Flytraps, a complete ripple-carry ternary arithmetic logic system is achieved in this research. Mimosa pudicas serve as the touch keyboard for the signal input and the monitor for the output of the plant-based biocomputer, and Venus flytraps based AND and OR logic gates implement the core ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit) of the plant-based biocomputer. The energy consumed by a single Venus flytrap requires only 38.8 µW of power in the process of logic gate operation, and 74-series logic gate chips (74F08N chip (4 AND gate integrated circuit)) used in consumer electronics require 7.86 mW to drive. To compare the energy consumed by the operation of the Venus Flytrap, the Venus flytraps based AND and OR logic gates implement the core ALU consumes 6.24 µJ for operation. Even though the energy consumption per calculation differs by a factor of ≈226 from 74-series logic gate chips, it is emphasized that the Venus Flytrap biocomputer has the potential for ultra-low frequency sensing and green computing.