What is this collection about? 

Hyperdimensional Computing (HD), or Vector Symbolic Architectures (VSA), refers to a family of computational approaches that combine high-dimensional vector representations with a small set of algebraic operations to solve computational problems. It is a growing area lying at the intersection of several disciplines, including computer science, artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), mathematics, electrical engineering, neuroscience, and cognitive science.

This collection welcomes contributions reporting both theoretical and practical advances in HD/VSA, particularly those aligned with the broad theme of unconventional computing, before the submission deadline of 16 March 2026. 

Why is this collection important? 

Departing from conventional scalar-number-based computing, HD/VSA defines computations at the level of very large populations of neurons that are represented as distributed, high-dimensional vectors. These representations, together with algebraic operations, enable computing in superposition and can provide elegant solutions to long-standing challenges in AI and ML.

This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure. 

Why submit to a collection? 

Collections like this one help promote high-quality science. They are led by Guest Editors and In-House Editors who are experts in their fields and supported by a dedicated team of Commissioning Editors and Managing Editors at Springer Nature. Collection manuscripts typically see higher citations, downloads, and Altmetric scores, and provide a one-stop-shop on a cutting-edge topic of interest. 

Who is involved? 

The Editor-in-Chief of npj Unconventional Computing is @Wei D. Lu, University of Michigan, USA.

The team of Editors working on this Collection is:

• Guest Editor @Abbas Rahimi, IBM-Research Zurich, Switzerland

• Guest Editor Peer Neubert, University of Koblenz, Germany

• Guest Editor Denis Kleyko, Örebro University, Sweden

• Guest Editor Edward Raff, University of Maryland, USA & Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., USA

How can I submit my paper? 

​Visit the Collection page to find out more about this collection and submit your article.