Workshop on Token Based Computing (ToBaCo)

Bologna, Italy

June 22, 2004

This workshop will take place within the 25th International Conference on Applications and Theory of Petri Nets (ICATPN'04)

Concurrency in inherently related to distributed control. The abstract models of many concurrent systems consist of graphs that represent the underlying structure and tokens that mimic the dynamic behaviour. Petri nets, Kahn process networks, Boolean dataflow networks, cellular automata, etc, are some popular examples. The current technological trends have also had a tangible impact in the computational models and real-life applications: global computing, mobile computing, globally-asynchronous locally-synchronous systems, nano and quantum computing. This workshop is an attempt to gather researchers from different areas of Computer Science and Engineering that use Token Based Computing models in their systems.

Topics of interest

include (but are not limited to):

Petri nets and concurrency models for digital design and test
Self-timed, asynchronous and GALS (globally asynchronous locally synchronous) systems
Reconfigurable and programmable devices for token based computing
Processing and memory structures for token based computing
Synchronization techniques for token based computing
Interconnects and communication networks for token based computing
CAD tools for token based computing
Applications and case studies for token based computing
Cellular automata and cellular non-linear networks
Physical/technological paradigms for token-based computing (CMOS, SiGe, quantum, spintronics, molecular etc.)

Final programme

Invited talk

This workshop will include one invited talk:

Dr. Ferdinand Peper,
Senior researcher at Nanotechnology group of Communications Research Laboratory (CRL), Kobe,
and Visiting professor at Himeji Institute of Technology, Himeji

Token-based computing on nanometer scales

Abstract:
While the ongoing development of nanotechnology is expected to lead to extremely powerful computers,
it is likely to require new computer designs. This talk focusses on designs employing signals in the form
of tokens that are passed around asynchronously. Not needing a central clock, such designs promise
decreased heat dissipation, which is especially advantageous at high integration densities. Examples given
include cascades of interacting elements, which behave like rows of domino stones toppling each other, and
asynchronous cellular automata implementing such cascades. Cellular automata have attracted increasing
attention for implementations by nanotechnology because of their regularity, which facilitates assembly by
chemical synthesis in a self-organized way.

Organisers

Jordi Cortadella, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
Alex Yakovlev, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

Submission

Authors are invited to send a PDF or postscript file of an extended abstract (appr. 5 pages) of their paper to:

e-mail : tobaco04@lsi.upc.es

Papers must be in English. The paper must clearly state the problem being addressed, the goal of the work, the results achieved and the relation to other work. A handout containing all the accepted papers will be distributed to the workshop participants.

Important Dates:
Paper Submission: Notification: Final Version: Workshop:	March 14, 2004 April 19, 2004 May 17, 2004 June 22, 2004

Further information:

Announcements of Events on the Petri Net WWW pages:
http://www.daimi.au.dk/PetriNets/annce
Petri Nets'04 web pages:
http://www.cs.unibo.it/atpn2004/
Workshop (this) web page:
http://www.lsi.upc.es/~jordicf/tobaco04

Last updated on 22 October 2003