CLAYTRONICS, A SYNTHETIC REALITY

[Nov 17th 2005]

Unpredictable is the future though, changes in the technology trends prepares everybody for tomorrow. Biotechnology, Genetics, Space science, Nanotechnology, Material science, robotics and many more fields of technology managed to make their way out from science fiction in last 4 to 5 decades. Claytronics is an exception, It was never existed in science fiction as a science or technology until recent years, and yet here we are discussing the possibilities of programming the matter.

What is Claytronics?

Claytronics also called as Dynamic Physical rendering is upcoming field of engineering still in its infancy, dealing with configuration of claytronic atoms (CATOMS) to build bigger intelligent machines like robots. In a near future of the technology, catoms or wellstone commonly known as programmable matter will exhibit the property of morphing, transiting to any shapes, colors and sizes.This does sounds like cutting edge science fiction written by author fighting his royalty share from hollywood producers. However there is no obvious problem with the physics principle, which forms the foundation of such technology. A LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) simplest form of programmable matter runs on same physics principle. A big difference that makes programmable matter, a science fiction subject or rather star wars fantasy is because the scale on which programmable matter is controlled.

Claytronics though based upon on concepts of physics and electronics in schoolbooks (and a neat trick), it's a technology of 2040 and 2050 due to the technical challenge scientific and engineering community live with. Challenge is to develop and control this material on the scale of nanometers (100 times thinner then human hair, 1 nanometer = 10 -9 meters). Being done that take all such small catoms or nanobots in a bucket big enough to make any sensible application out of it. To understand this better we can take analogy of millions of computers working together in the same network with real time programming capabilities. Ok if you are a farmer consider you giving single command to millions of small tractors to work together in your farm and create a complicated crop circle and claim an alien attack.

Claytronics doesn't end with "working together" philosophy or networked computing alone. Catoms, basic blocks of claytronics can morph their physical and chemical properties, meaning same material can be of different mechanical, thermal properties, can have different shape or size, different color, fluorescent material can be converted to super reflecting mirror. These highlights and long wait till Year 2040/50 made claytronics technology as another story in science fiction. And most of the science communities are aware of the fact that claytronics technology is fundamentally based on concepts in quantum physics with measurable demonstration in labs.

The Concept and the trick

Catoms, of which claytronics machines will built upon are kind of rich quantum dot. Quantum dot is basically a semiconducting crystal (material used in ICs for almost any electronic or computing device) on a nanoscale, so we can call it semiconducting nanocrystal. Quantum dots unlike normal semiconducting crystal caters to single or more electrons on a scale small enough that they can be called as artificial atoms without their own nucleus. To make this understand better Quantum dots controls can control almost single electron in its own territory. These territories have different levels, in scientific term called discrete energy levels on the order of De-Broglies wavelength.

Trick is really simple in theory; every substance on a atomic level is identified based upon its atomic number and atomic mass number. Atom has three basic atomic particles (no of basic particles discovered is high as of now) electron, proton and neutron. In a balanced atom no of electrons and protons are same, so no of electrons indicates atomic number as well. Here in Quantum dots we can manipulate no of electrons trapped by adjusting the voltage to the metal. Creating lots of such artificial atoms in metal like semiconductor can alter lots of its chemical and electronic properties to make a non transparent metal behave like a transparent mirror maybe.

Current research Projects on Claytronics

Dynamic Physical Rendering or Synthetic Reality is almost the only project on claytronics. Researchers at Intel Pittsburgh Laboratory and Carnegie Mellon University are jointly working on this research area. They are exploring new forms of programmable matter and possibilities of star war technologies like teleportation, teleoperation, distributed sensing. Below are the links given to this project. Dynamic Physical Rendering at Pittsburgh, Synthetic Reality at CMU

And of course we will be safe assuming there would be some projects with NASA and universities in US-EUROPE funded by US Defence, NSF and others which we will know in next 20 years if not later.Is Claytronics the future?

No, Not atleast for us maybe. Progress in field of Nanotechnology will dictate the future of claytronics. Unless nanotechnology comes up with machines to control and manufacture catoms like quantum dots, theory to engineer and command those catoms will remain in research labs. The equation would reverse itself once Claytronics is reality; it should change not only the technology we live in today but also our lives more than any invention ever has.

BY Kiran Belose

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