Machine copies itself like DNA

Source:
http://www.trnmag.com/Roundup/2005/TRN_Research_News_Roundup_10-3-05.html

Machine copies itself like DNA

A device that combines air hockey and DNA marks at least the third time
this year the nascent field of self-replicating machines has seen a
significant advance.


Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have built a
system that replicates strings of simple electronic devices from random
parts floating on a cushion of air. The system works much like DNA, with a
few rules and a few types of components working to make copies of an
initial example for as long as the supply of parts lasts.

The electromechanical parts move around at random and attach or detatch
from each other according to simple communications between neighboring
parts. When a new part latches onto a part that has become part of a copy
of the initial example string, the part in the string checks for a match.

The research could lead to self-replicating machines that build, repair,
and -- reminiscent of childrens transformer toys -- reconfigure themselves
for different tasks or changes in circumstances.

The MIT work is similar to a self-replicating machine developed at Cornell
University, though the Cornell system uses carefully positioned rather
than random parts. The MIT system is also similar to a simulation
developed by researchers at the Canadian National Research Council and the
University of Waterloo in Canada.

(Self-Replication from Random Parts, Nature, September 29, 2005)