Voxels Project

Introduction

The Voxels Project is inspired by my research into automated assembly, and an interest in studying design issues for a nanoassembler. Since I am an electrical engineer, and not a chemist, I can't do much about the tip chemistry and molecular dynamics in a nanotechnology system, but I can study general design issues of material transport, control signals and general self-replicating theory questions like:

What is a simple geometry which allows self-replication?
If my assembler is built on a fundamental grid size (such as an atom), how can I get finer control than the grid size (maybe half or quarter grid size) to build the next generation?
How many actuators do I need for a practical self-replicating assembler?
How can I make a moveable platform, assemble parts and maintain a parts bin without ever "letting go" of any part (since in the nanorealm, they will just fly away)?
How can I handle long range transport of a workpiece from one assembly station to the next?
The control lines are made of material on the same scale as the workpiece. How can I prevent control lines from clogging the assembly area?
How to prevent a child assembler from activating while under assembly?
How to activate the child assembler when it is finished?
How to spawn power and control lines to the child assembler?
Control software issues: getting the right part in standby for the hand operation which will need it, keeping track of all the parts as they are used, backing out if a parts test fails.

In a real mechanochemistry assembler, the basic building block is an atom, such as carbon, and a manipulator hand creates the workpiece by mechanically placing each atom, like laying bricks. The manipulator hand does not have a gripper, but is sticky, relying on chemistry so that the carbon atom wants to stick to the manipulator hand more than to the feedstock bin, but wants to stick to the workpiece more than the hand.

Design Approaches

So I propose to develop a macro-scale system to imitate this. If any of the solutions and theory developed at the macro scale are relevant to the nano scale, then actually building a macro self-replicating assembler helps jumpstart nanotechnology. The following describe successive generations of design:

First design, based in interlocking cubes. A "sticky finger" picks and places the cubes.
Second design, based on stacking spheres. Structural and "sacrificial" spheres are pushed into place, all glued together, and the sacrificial spheres are removed leaving the structure.

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