Self-assembling robots

A team of researchers at MIT have developed robots that can "self-assemble" using nearby parts (read: humans in the year 2029) "floating" about at random. Sure, they look like a jumbled set of children's fridge magnets but at least these don't look like tofu! See, like cells which replicate DNA using the building blocks drifting about inside the cell's nucleus, these yellow and green robots float about on a cushion of air assembling themselves by attaching to a green robot on one side and a yellow robot on the other. The process continues until they form 5-robot strands such as YGGYY or GYYGG, but never ever the dreaded GGYGY. If sequencing should run amuck, the robots can auto-correct and re-attach elsewhere. Hmmm, they can make mistakes, huh… maybe they aren't the omniscient overlords we feared!

[aleandro @ Dec 19th 2005 2:06AM]

woah dude I dont want to be alive when those thing start having human emotion like ego and greed....

[Anthony @ Dec 19th 2005 2:06AM]

Can't wait to see what happens when we start manufacturing these on a moleculer level. Say in the form of blood cells, muscle tissue, other genetic materials. Is it just me or has anyone else explored the thought that humans are alien robots? It's a fun excersize ;)

[Chris @ Dec 19th 2005 2:06AM]

Anyone ever watch Stargate SG-1.... Does Replicators come to mind?

[the english guy @ Dec 19th 2005 2:06AM]

Can we fast-forward a few decades to the hot female robots who don't talk back or give you s*** just because they can?

[Kenneth Sundby @ Dec 19th 2005 2:06AM]

I, for one, welcome our new lego overlords.

[Ima Pseudonym @ Dec 19th 2005 2:06AM]

Suckup.

[Ima Pseudonym @ Dec 19th 2005 2:06AM]

Suckup.

[chips @ Dec 19th 2005 2:06AM]

Nice one kenneth :p

[Robo @ Dec 19th 2005 2:06AM]

They really should have movie clips for articles like these. Really, it's kinda obvious people would like to see them in action no?

[Digital @ Dec 19th 2005 2:06AM]

I am going to have to go with Chris on this one. This sounds cool, but if you have watched Stargate SG-1, you know this could go wrong real quick on us. I mean what happens if the off switch on these suckers gets busted??

[Adam @ Dec 19th 2005 2:06AM]

No worries, they only survive on a cushion of air. The air hockey tables would be the first to go.

[Cashmore @ Dec 19th 2005 2:06AM]

#4 Yeah, but does it run....

http://www.ericharshbarger.org/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?penguin_0.jpg+lego/images/penguin

[mike @ Dec 19th 2005 2:06AM]

There is a theory out there call the Grey Theory I think. The idea behind that is we create self replicating robots which then go out of control and consume the whole earth to continue to create itself.

Either way, we are one step closer to making the Terminator a docu film.

[boynamedsue @ Dec 19th 2005 2:06AM]

its sad to me that the concept of grey goo has been around forever, but the first example that comes to some people is its application in a shitty tv show.

[Brian @ Dec 19th 2005 2:06AM]

I hate to re-iterate the fact, but Replicators anyone? I mean if those ever came out i would start carring a gun around everywhere...those things we're scary.

[Bob @ Dec 19th 2005 2:06AM]

I am a comment spammer: [e-mail]