ON SIMULTANEOUS CONSTRUCTION OF VORONOI DIAGRAM AND DELAUNAY TRIANGULATION BY PHYSARUM POLYCEPHALUM

Abstract

We experimentally demonstrate that both Voronoi diagram and its dual graph Delaunay triangulation are simultaneously constructed — for specific conditions — in cultures of plasmodium, a vegetative state of Physarum polycephalum. Every point of a given planar data set is represented by a tiny mass of plasmodium. The plasmodia spread from their initial locations but, in certain conditions, stop spreading when they encounter plasmodia originated from different locations. Thus space loci not occupied by the plasmodia represent edges of Voronoi diagram of the given planar set. At the same time, the plasmodia originating at neighboring locations form merging protoplasmic tubes, where the strongest tubes approximate Delaunay triangulation of the given planar set. The problems are solved by plasmodium only for limited data sets, however the results presented lay a sound ground for further investigations.