Slime mould

Slime Mould / Adaptive Network

Watch a living network spread, test possible routes, and strengthen the paths that lead somewhere useful. Over time, unused branches fade while successful connections become clearer.

Watch a living network find useful routes

Watch a living network spread, test possible routes, and strengthen the paths that lead somewhere useful. Over time, unused branches fade while successful connections become clearer.

What to watch: glowing nutrients pull nearby growth, successful veins thicken, and faint exploratory tendrils gradually prune away.

Explanatory notes

Exploratory tendrils grow from a starting source and bend toward nearby nutrient cues without seeing a full map.
When a tendril reaches food, the route back to the source is reinforced and drawn as a thicker glowing vein.
Branches that do not keep receiving useful feedback fade and thin, making pruning visible over time.
Muted obstacles repel growth locally, so the network gradually discovers usable routes around blocked terrain.

Observe

A growing front explores locally, reinforces routes that reach nutrients, and lets unused tendrils fade into the background.

Controls

Preset

Explore the feedback

The exhibit keeps the biology simple: local growth explores, nutrient contact sends feedback, and old traces fade.

Explore: Soft tendrils branch from the source and test several nearby routes.
Discover: Glowing nutrient nodes attract nearby growth and brighten when reached.
Reinforce: Useful routes receive feedback and become thicker, clearer veins.
Prune: Branches with little feedback slowly fade so the final network stays legible.

Visual overlays

Reveal extra reading cues while preserving the calm default view.

Nutrient labels Growing front tips

Advanced tuning

Growth speed1 How quickly new exploratory vein segments appear. Branching tendency0.28 Higher values create more exploratory tendrils before pruning settles the scene. Nutrient attraction0.95 How strongly the growing front bends toward visible nutrient nodes. Pruning fade rate0.012 How quickly unused exploratory paths fade back into the substrate. Obstacle count3 Adds quiet barriers that local growth must route around. Network visibility0.9 Fade the whole vein network in or out without changing the growth rules.

Applications

Adaptive routing
Network design
Resilient infrastructure
Decentralised optimisation