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Towards Self-Replicating Rapid Prototypers
Neil Halelamien writes "Researchers at the University of Bath are developing a rapid prototyping machine capable of making copies of itself and other products, reminiscent of the Universal Constructor proposed by von Neumann. The so-called Replicating Rapid-Prototyper (or RepRap) would produce items from raw materials and small components like microchips. If successful, this could make rapid prototyping cheap enough for regular in-home usage, especially since the project's lead, Dr. Adrian Bowyer, will be releasing his project's designs under the GNU GPL. It's previously been proposed that a similar system would be useful for space exploration and industrialization."
Currently there's one faculty and one undergraduate in the project. So the manpower is rather light. But even so the project appears useful and maybe achievable even with that little manpower. Anyone with experience with this sort of rapid prototyping want to comment? I like the idea of first building a self-replicating machine (presumably with some human labor still required) and then refining it. This seems a good approach to me and it's exciting that we're actually as close as we are to doing this.
Well, if we used this machine to replicate those miniature black holes the British made, we could have the Earth reduced to a singularity in no time!
This is my sig.
If the human package came with this feature.
/.ers would boast of being family men too.