RepRap universal constructor achieves self-replication
Boing Boing (via Instapundit)
The RepRap universal constructor made a successful copy of itself on May 29, 2008.
Right now, this thing is a lot like the very early personal computers, with I think two important differences.
First, is that for the most part, computers were an addition to a material economy. They made things cheaper, and certainly made things possible that were not before, but they didn’t immediately interact with the material world. The closest computers have come to that is probably digital music, and of course we can see how large a change that is having on the music industry. Fabrication technology makes that kind of change effect everything.
Secondly, technological rate of chage is accellerating. What took two decades to accomplish a generation ago may only take five years now.
It seems to me that we are in for a pretty wild ride. And that is just one of the societally changing technologies that is emerging.
