Intelligent matter:From scientific concept to emerging applications
With the rise of artificial intelligence,intelligent matter has become a frontier hotspot at the intersection of computer science and physical science including chemistry,biology,and materials.People expect to imitate living organisms and construct a"living"material system with features of intelligence,to understand the materials foundation of intelligence and further expand the types and mechanisms of artificial intelligence.Intelligent matter includes sensors,actuators,memory,and networks that mediate their interactions.It is capable of perceiving environment stimuli,processing information,making decisions,and responding/adapting.It originates from molecules,but goes beyond molecules.As a whole,completely new properties and functions could emerge from this complex mixture,or so-called"system".This review aims to provide a brief introduction to the basic concept,key elements,and typical applications of intelligent matter.Intelligent matter is a complex system assembled from molecules,which is capable of performing specific functions,and can learn,adapt,and evolve autonomously.To understand intelligent matter,we should not only focus on its chemical composition,static structure and dynamic transformation,but also on the interaction network between components and the"emergence"phenomena derived from the system.As a system on the whole,intelligent matter realizes the functional regulation with intelligent characteristics through an interaction network based on feedback and compensation mechanisms.At a higher level of abstraction,intelligent matter,as a carrier of information,can achieve the encoding,heredity,and evolution of functions.Currently,there are two main strategies to develop intelligent matter:"bottom-up"and"top-down".The former strives to construct"from scratch"an entirely new system through the design of molecular composition and interaction network,bringing in the emergence of intelligence.Inorganics,organics,synthetic polymers and biomacromolecules can all serve as assembly motifs.The latter delves into engineering the existing system of living organisms with complex compositions and interaction networks,endowing it with new functional roles.In synthetic biology,prokaryotes such as E.coli bacteria and eukaryotes such as S.cerevisiae yeast have already been engineered to fulfill artificial functions.As a complex system with adaptability and evolvability,intelligent matter has unique advantages in application.At present,there is still a big gap between the complexity of intelligent matter obtained by the above-mentioned two strategies,and each application has its own emphasis and context.For example,reconstructed responsive materials are often used in flexible devices responsive to thermal,electrical and chemical triggers.On this basis,people have built soft robots to accomplish difficult tasks.In comparison,modified living materials are often used in the biomedical field,such as wearable,self-healing sensors and tissue adhesives.This review introduces the basic concept,key elements and typical applications of intelligent matter.Although the research is still in its infancy,intelligent matter has been applied in many fields including flexible devices,soft robotics and biomedicine,showing broad developmental prospects.We believe that the study of intelligent matter is an opportunity and challenge for materials science,and requires the guidance of information theory,cybernetics and systems theory.In the future,the research on intelligent matter will move from single and specialized functional materials to complex and general intelligent systems.
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