CNN: The machine that can copy anything

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Benjamin Kuipers <kuipers () cs utexas edu>
Date: June 5, 2005 8:27:51 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Cc: Ip ip <ip () v2 listbox com>
Subject: Re: [IP] CNN: The machine that can copy anything


IP-ers interested in the implications of this should read
"Business as Usual, During Alterations", by Ralph Williams,
originally published July 1958 in Astounding Science Fiction
and anthologized plenty of times since then.  (It's not online,
but you can track it down easily enough.)

Aliens attempt to test whether humanity has the self-control to
resist the self-replicating replicator, given the warning that it
will wreck our economy and our society.  Humanity shows little
self-control, but turns out to be more resilient than expected.

Cheers,

Ben


At 7:47 AM -0400 6/5/05, David Farber wrote:

> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: John Parres <johnparres () gmail com>
> Date: June 5, 2005 5:29:13 AM EDT
> To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
> Subject: CNN: The machine that can copy anything
> Reply-To: John Parres <johnparres () gmail com>
>
>
> http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/06/02/tech.reprap/index.html
>
> The machine that can copy anything
> By Simon Hooper for CNN
> Thursday, June 2, 2005 Posted: 10:48 AM EDT (1448 GMT)
>
> LONDON, England (CNN) -- A revolutionary machine that can copy itself
> and manufacture everyday objects quickly and cheaply could transform
> industry in the developing world, according to its creator.
>
> The "self-replicating rapid prototyper," or "RepRap" is the brainchild
> of Dr. Adrian Bowyer, a senior lecturer in mechanical engineering at
> the University of Bath in the UK.
>
> It is based on rapid prototyping technology commonly used to
> manufacturer plastic components in industry from computer-generated
> blueprints -- effectively a form of 3D printer.
>
> But Bowyer told CNN the RepRap's ability to copy itself could put
> rapid prototyping technology within reach of the world's poorest
> communities by alleviating the need for the sort of large-scale
> industrial infrastructure common across the developed world.
>
> "People can start manufacturing goods at a low price," said Bowyer.
> "All one needs is a computer and a machine that can copy itself. It
> can spread without enormous expenditure of capital and where labor
> costs are low.
>
> "It is the first technology that we can have that can simultaneously
> make people more wealthy while reducing the need for industrial
> production."
>
> Prototyping machines currently cost around $45,000 but Bowyer believes
> that price could drop to a few hundred dollars as the number of
> self-replicating models increases exponentially.
>
> "It makes industry a little more like agriculture," said Bowyer, who
> specializes in biomimetics, the study and application of natural
> processes in technologies such as engineering, design and computing.
>
> "Farmers have been dealing with self-replicating products for years."
>
> Rapid prototyping machines work by building a succession of layers,
> either bonded by a laser or held together by alternating layers of
> glue.
>
> The key feature of the RepRap is its ability to print electrical
> circuits by squirting a metal alloy with a low-melting point from a
> heated nozzle.
>
> The machine could build items ranging in size from a few millimeters
> to around 30 centimeters, such as plates, dishes, combs and musical
> instruments.
>
> Larger or more complicated items could be assembled from smaller
> parts, and by adding extra parts such as screws and microchips.
>
> Bowyer said the target of the project was to create a range of devices
> that could be assembled for around $500 using additional components
> commonly and cheaply available in hardware stores.
>
> He also said that the technology could help solve some of the
> recycling issues commonly associated with plastics: "If the machine
> can copy itself, it can make its own recycler. When you break
> something you can just feed it into the recycler and break it down to
> its raw materials and re-build it.
>
> "The key ecological point is that it cuts down on the transportation
> necessary both to manufacture products and to dispose of them. Every
> household would have its own recycling set-up.
>
> "This is recycling heaven rather than recycling hell."
>
> The concept of self-replicating machines dates back to the work of
> mathematician John von Neumann, who proposed the idea of a "Universal
> Constructor" that could copy itself in the 1950s.
>
> Von Neumann suggested that the generational development of a machine
> would display similar characteristics to Darwinian evolution as users
> honed and varied its design to suit their needs.
>
> To encourage that development, Bowyer plans to make the design of the
> RepRap available online and free to use, in the same way as open
> source software such as the Linux operating system or Mozilla's
> Firefox browser.
>
> Anyone with a replicating machine could then start manufacturing
> copies. Once someone owned the technology they could download other
> designs, or create their own.
>
> "The most interesting part of this is that we're going to give it
> away," said Bowyer.
>
> "If these machines take off, it will give individual people the chance
> to do this themselves, and we are talking about making a lot of our
> consumer goods. The effect this has on industry and society could be
> dramatic."
>
>
> Find this article at:
> http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/06/02/tech.reprap/index.html
>
>
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--

Benjamin Kuipers, Professor         email:  kuipers () cs utexas edu
Computer Sciences Department        tel:    1-512-471-9561
University of Texas at Austin       fax:    1-512-471-8885
Austin, Texas 78712 USA             http://www.cs.utexas.edu/~kuipers


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