Wetware computing is a broad term for computation that depends on living biological material. In current neural-biocomputing research it usually refers to cultured neurons or neural organoids connected to electronic interfaces and software.
The term is useful because it distinguishes the living substrate from hardware and software while allowing all three to operate in one system. FinalSpark's published platform paper explicitly uses “wetware computing” for remote experiments on neural organoids.
What belongs under the term?
Neural wetware includes dissociated neuronal cultures, brain organoids and engineered 3D neural networks used inside an information-processing loop. DNA computing, biochemical logic and engineered-cell circuits can also be described as biological computing, although they are usually discussed in different research communities.
Current neural wetware systems
DishBrain uses a 2D neuronal culture. Brainoware uses a brain organoid as a reservoir. FinalSpark maintains organoids behind a remotely accessible API. 3D-MIND integrates electronics through a three-dimensional neural culture.
The software problem
Living networks drift, adapt and vary between preparations. Useful wetware therefore needs software that can calibrate the substrate, encode inputs, decode outputs and keep track of state over time. That software layer may become as important commercially as the cells themselves.