Biological inspiration in the design of computing machines finds its source in essentially three biological models: phylogenesis, the history of the evolution of the species, ontogenesis, the development of an individual as directed by his genetic code, and epigenesis, the development of an individual through learning processes influenced both by their genetic code and by the environment. These three models share a common basis: a one-dimensional description of the organism, the genome. If one would like to implement some or all of these ideas in hardware can we use COTS or do we need specifically designed-for-purpose devices? This talk will consider some historical work on bio-inspired architectures before moving on to consider a new device designed and built specifically for bio-inspired work. It will consider some of the novel features present in this device, such as self-configuration and dynamic routing, which assist the implementation of ontogenetic capabilities such as development, self-repair and self-replication.