CCSL Self Replication Robots

  Hod Lipson at the Cornell Computational Synthesis Lab created intelligent robotic modules that have the ability to recreate themselves. This system was designed so that the number of modules could grow thus making it possible for the system as a whole to have more variation at a larger scale. These robots were made using 3d printing technology compounded with individual microprocessors. Self-similar modules have the ability to wirelessly connect and reconnect through electro-magnetic male-female connections. Interesting text from the author: Contrary to previously held views that self-replication is a property that a system either has or has not ("you can't be half pregnant"), our theory suggests that it is actually a continuum, where different systems can self-reproduce to different extents. The extent to which a system is self replicating depends on things like how fast does it self replicate, how accurately does it self replicate, how dependent is it on its environment to self replicate, how complex are its building blocks, how complex it is itself, etc. etc. For example, crystals self replicate, but only in a solution; rabbits self-replicate - less accurately and more slowly than a crystal - but they are less dependent on having a specific environment.” More Images Video Links found here.