Bio-Development of Motorway Networks in the Netherlands: A Slime Mould Approach

TL;DR

This study explores how slime mould Physarum polycephalum can model and potentially optimize the development of motorway networks, using the Netherlands as a case study to compare bio-constructed and existing transport systems.

Contribution

It demonstrates that slime mould can approximate and adapt transport networks, offering insights into bio-inspired infrastructure planning and resilience.

Findings

Slime mould networks closely resemble existing Dutch motorways.

Physarum can adapt its network in response to simulated flooding.

Bio-constructed networks show potential for resilient infrastructure design.

Abstract

Plasmodium of acellular slime mould Physarum polycephalum is a very large eukaryotic microbe visible to the unaided eye. During its foraging behaviour the plasmodium spans sources of nutrients with a network of protoplasmic tubes. In this paper we attempt to address the following question: is slime mould capable of computing transport networks? By assuming the sources of nutrients are cities and protoplasmic tubes connecting the sources are motorways, how well does the plasmodium approximate existing motorway networks? We take the Netherlands as a case study for bio-development of motorways, while it has the most dense motorway network in Europe, current demand is rapidly approaching the upper limits of existing capacity. We represent twenty major cities with oat flakes, place plasmodium in Amsterdam and record how the plasmodium spreads between oat flakes via the protoplasmic tubes. First we analyse slime-mould-built and man-built transport networks in a framework of proximity graphs to investigate if the slime mould is capable of computing existing networks. We then go on to investigate if the slime mould is able calculate or adapt the network through imitating restructuring of the transport network as a response to potential localized flooding of the Netherlands.