Finding the optimal path with the aid of chemical wave

It is shown that the optimal path in a two-dimensional vector field is deduced by the use of chemical wave in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction (BZ reaction). We also reproduced our experimental result in a numerical simulation based on a two-variable reaction-diffusion equation. The present result provides a simple model for the future application of excitable media to parallel computing, i.e., an excitable medium serves as a self-organized parallel processor.