The once and future analog alternative: evolvable hardware and analog computation

Once-upon-a-time, analog computers co-existed with their digital counterparts and were considered equally useful. For many applications, specifically equation solving and modeling of physical systems, analog computers were often the better choice. The 1970's, however, saw the beginning of the end of this superiority. Advances in digital circuit fabrication and discrete computer algorithms, not to mention significant advantages of economy, generality, and ease of use, precipitated a mass exodus to general-purpose digital computers so complete that there are now many in the current generation who have neither experience with, nor memory of, the analog alternative. The exodus was certainly made for good reasons. However, it may be beneficial, from time to time, to consider if subsequent developments have rendered those reasons less compelling. This first part of this paper will suggest that the emergence of evolvable hardware (EH) is one such development. It will argue that by applying EH methodologies, one might practically restore the benefits of analog computation as well as achieve benefits not possible in earlier times. The second part of this paper will briefly outline a specific program designed to field practical analog EH control devices.