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The idea of a self-replicating machines has long been a dream — and nightmare — of artificial-life science. It’s a dream for NASA dudes, for example, insofar as self-replicating machines would be useful for colonizing other planets: You just send a couple of ‘em to Mars in a flashlight-sized rocket, give ‘em 10 years, and they’ll eventually build a suburb. The nightmare scenario, on the other hand, is the old “grey goo” worry, wherein teensy nanomachines run amok and eat up the entire planet while trying to build infinitely versions of themselves, turning Earth into a slurry of unformed entropic crap, kind of like L.A.
Good times, either way you slice it! So I was intrigued to read the latest report in Nature about some Cornell scientists who’ve created genuinely self-replicating machines. They’re little cubes that can rotate internally, in a vaguely Rubik-like way; they can also attach to one another — and detach — via magnetism. The result is a set of borg-like cells that can form new copies of individual robotic “organisms.” The BBC reported on it, writing …
Their long-term plan is to design robots made from hundreds or thousands of identical basic modules.
These could repair themselves if parts fail, reconfigure themselves to better perform the task they have been set, or even to make extra helpers.
Do not fail to check out the super-odd video of the robots in action — duplicating themselves.
(Thanks to Erik and Bill for this one!)
I'm Clive Thompson, a writer on science, technology, and culture. This blog collects bits of offbeat research I'm running into, and musings thereon.
Currently, I'm a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and a columnist for Wired magazine. I also write for Fast Company and Wired magazine's web site, among other places. Email or AOL IM me (pomeranian99) to say hi or send in something strange!
The “Milky Way Transit Authority” map
Should automobile software be open-sourced?
My Bookforum review of Jaron Lanier’s “You Are Not A Gadget”
Molecular secrets of the “iron-plated snail”
» visit the Collision Detection archives
January 31, 2010 » 07:29 PM
V. A. To me death seems to be an evil.
M. What, to those who are already dead? or to those who must die?
A. To both.
M. It is a misery, then, because an evil?
A. Certainly.
M. Then those who have already died, and those who have still got to die, are both miserable?
A. So it appears to me.
M. Then all are miserable?
A. Every one.
January 24, 2010 » 03:22 PM
One of the more interesting trends is family, which came in at number five. Specifically, discussion about family, moms, dads, daughters, etc. jumped during 2009. With Facebook users getting older, this isn’t a big surprise. However, the fact that the mention of “kids” jumped by a factor of five this year is rather dramatic. It’s tough to know what this means, though. (via Facebook Unveils Most-Mentioned Topics of 2009
)
January 15, 2010 » 01:36 PM
BEYOND AWESOME. They are announcing a recall of the Plush Uterus “due to a potential choking hazard for children”. To apply for it, “Please send an email to the address below with the subject line, ‘UTERUS OPT OUT’”.
January 14, 2010 » 10:04 PM
“To order, please TYPE “YES” IN CHECKBOX BELOW TO AGREE YOU UNDERSTAND THIS PLUSH MUST BE KEPT AWAY FROM KIDS (it is a sex organ, after all). If it is not checked, WE WILL NOT SEND THE UTERUS.” (via @ibogost)
January 11, 2010 » 01:45 PM
I watched Space: 1999 back in the day, but I swear to god I do not remember this scene.
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