Capacity Bounds on Point-to-Point Communication Using Molecules

Recent years have shown a rapid increase in the amount of study devoted to communication systems where molecules are information carriers. The reasons for such interest are varied, from seeking to understand the ubiquity of molecular communication in biology to the search for communication methods in media where electromagnetic and acoustic methods are inappropriate, to exploring the energy efficiency of methods where some delivery latency can be allowed. With this tutorial on recent discrete molecular communication research, we seek to organize the work into broad categories and thence under the umbrella of what can be called “inscribed matter communication,” where information is conveyed through assemblage, release, and capture of matter as opposed to the transmission of photons or phonons. We will begin by considering discrete passage of molecules between senders and receivers, and argue that matter emission and detection, even at Avogadrian levels, are a subset of the discrete problem, all with a focus on point-to-point communication. In this way, we hope to contextualize current work within a larger fundamental framework, illuminate the hard boundaries of what is known, and then stimulate further research on this fascinating topic.