That's why all self respecting rebels in the future use disruptors instead of phasers.

Definitely it's a fun hobby for now. I discussed it with someone who has a PhD in robotics, and she suggested the best course of action is to submit a prototype to a robotics conference, so that is the direction I am working towards, along with acompanying documents on theory. I considered 3D services, and decided against them for convenience sake, and I've also always wanted a 3D printer of my own anyways. I'm dirt poor, so I'm working on writing and 3D modelling at the moment in lieu of working on the physical model. I'm not sure how many parts I'll need, but I expect a lot of design revisions.

As for the grey goo scenario, I'm not worried at all. I've divided self-replication into fine grained degrees, and the first prototype only has a few, but is designed for easy addition of degrees of autonomy, which is why the design is so exciting. While in theory the great grand-children of this technology would have the capability to pave over the earth, the intrinsic interface with human operators I think would preclude that. That being said, I could also forsee novel forms of abuse of that technology. Even still, this is a type of system that is susceptible to destruction by primates with hammers, so unless it learns to defend itself by dispensing banannas, I don't have much concern.

I almost forgot, a link! LOL If anyone wants to contact me, my email is spatialautomation at the usual Google domain.

I wish I could, but I've made the commitment not to share until my literature is done. I also don't have anything saleable, as my prototype, modest that it is, is not finished. The only thing that would help me speed up right now is an angel investor, as I'm totally cash strapped. My current stretch goal is to save up for a 3D printer, as I found that there are some features that macguyvering from my local hardware store just won't do. Yes I'm that poor! LOL (Disclaimer: While very useful, my work has very little to do with 3D printing. This is not yet another Reprap project, or even close.)

As for litereture, I can share some concepts. Economical and useful self replicating technology has been theoretically possible since at least the 1970's. There is no magic technology other than computers and mechanics that is needed. The problem isn't even much of a cash problem, as any decent R&D budget could probably achieve degrees of self-replication. The main problem is conceptual and architectural, nobody has a clue what the blueprints or paradigm should be. On this basis I totally understand your skepticism to my claims, as extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. I assure you that my design and prototype is very humble. What isn't humble is that I've identified the design criteria and broken it up into a huge array of small, profitable steps. Since this is an excercise in designing a planned economy where every worker is a robot, the very basic fundamentals can be very small, much like the rules for cellular automata are exceedingly simple.

I'm really excited about this, and I could talk forever. I guess it won't hurt to share some general nuggets. I will share one theoretical fact I've identified so far, the Profitability Principle of Self Replicating Machines. It's the simple and obvious idea that any useful machine with self-replicating properties is going to be astronomically profitable. This is a principle with plenty of historical examples, and I believe it will predict future economic developments. Every degree of development towards self replicating machines sees a concurrent degree in usefulness, and therefore, profit. Such degrees of self-replication in the past have been things such as the invention of electric motors, electronics, and even most of the industrial and computer revolutions can be described in terms of individual properties of self-replicationg machines being developed. Today, almost every profitable development in terms of automation and computer control can be included in this, if such development is something a self-replicating machine would find useful.

Turning this principle on it's head gives an aware developer a useful objective metric in developing new technology. According to the Profitability Principle, the more Degrees of Self Replication (features that bring a machine or system closer to self-replication) that an invention has, the more profitable it will be. This principle has been blindly guiding a great deal of economic technical development since the steam age. For designers who explicitly and knowlegably apply the details and nuances of the Profitability Principle to their work, this feature growth can be vastly accelerated, along with the feed back loop of profit.

I'm not here to solve the world's problems with a wonder machine, that's nonsense. But I do belive I understand the theory, architecture and design philosopy that will bring an economy to that ultimate goal in small, profitable steps. Anyone who knows the way can save themselves a lot of headaches in failed developments. My book goes into the details of how the Profitability Principle works in development circles, plus my prototype is one of the first meager yet very useful steps with self-replication explicitly in mind.

So far I'm plodding away at my own speed and shoestring budget. I can't wait for the day I hit my milestones, then I'll share it with the world. It's very exciting and I want to talk about it more, but I promised myself I wouldn't. About the only thing that would help right now would be an angel investor, which is why I posted on Slashdot in the first place. It's that small hope this connects to someone with big resources and has the mindset to understand the economic and technical theory. Even a small actual seed budget would bring amazing things to the table.

Seriously, I broke the code, it works. There are a lot of problems integrating modern robotics into useful wholes. Adapting John Von Neumann's work in the 1950's to what we've learned since with Information Science, I have made some theoretical breakthroughs in automation, some as fundamental as adoptiong the use of 1's and 0's was to computing science. The result is an organic whole, enabling self replication to spread across networks of machines, using simple, off the shelf parts and local materials for cheap. It's not just a bootstrap for solar system development, it's a bootstrap for a post-scarcity society.

I'm finishing writing my book and building my prototypes. I have very meagre resources, gladly this system is designed to be cheap. Once my book is complete I plan on realeasing this to the world. Even the first prototypes should be wildly profitable for a very large variety of companies, so I plan on selling DIY kits. I am looking for partners and funding. If you're reading this, Elon Musk, let me know. :-)

Yes, they get to keep a big portion of ill gotten gains. What they pay will likely be a tax write off. Also, nobody goes to jail for outright fraud. There's nothing to see here, citizen. Move along.

Don't you mean her lawyer won her salary?

So far it seems that the law regarding the "creation of child pornography" laws are applied so selectively as to be meaningless. My personal desire to see justice done impartially means that everyone who is known to have done the crime, needs to be charged and punished for the crime, no exceptions. So far it seems that this is just another tool police use to bully people with. That isn't justice.

She needs to go to jail. Seriously. She's no better than all the poor slobs before her that were convicted of the same thing. Fame should be an aggravating factor. She should have to register as a sex offender when she gets out. Then maybe... Hopefully... This issue will get the attention it deserves and these draconian laws will change. But please, for the sake of all the other victims of this law, don't treat her special because she's female, pretty, rich, and famous.

It's a way to charge people for using CB radio and walkie talkies.

I'm not suggesting throwing money at the problem.

The point is that Canada is being put to a very awkward choice: Allow our culture to be overwhelmed and abosorbed into the United States, or limit the free speech rights of corporations that throw scads of US content at Canadians for profit.

You don't get it... Canadian meda can be twice as innovative, interesting, diverse, and popular than USA media, but because of the population difference, it would still drown in a sea of mediocre USA programming without some sort of protection in place. This has nothing to do with quality, Canadians can kick ass at that, it's a simple numbers game. For every Canadian doing something awesome, there's at least 10 people in the USA doing something at least as good.

You are incorrect on the Internet, so I must correct you.

Hits these days aren't discovered so much as made. CanCon must makes sure that some of the people making the hits are Canadian. It's just business, and Canadians have at least a 10/1 disadvantage, with the added pitfall that if these Canadian businesses fail, our culture gets completely swallowed up by USA megacorps. The truth is that USA can and will buy and sell Canada 10 times over without anyone south of the border even noticing. We as a country need to stand up and say that our culture is not for sale, or it will be gone.

Said the perpatrator of every genocide, ever.

Stoutlimb (a Canadian) says the goodness of every culture should be cherished, and those at risk of being unfairly erased due to circumstance need protecting. Part of Canadian culture is to protect our own against impossible odds. Our nation was founded on the premise of joint defence against encroachment from the south, and here we are 147 years later, still facing 10 to 1 odds. With your attitude, you won't remain Canadian for long.

Because of population differences, Canadian content producers would have to be 10x more productive and competitive just to even the playing field. Anything less, and a deregulated culture would look no different than USA culture. This is just facts, and most Canadians want their own unique culture to remain strong, and this is the only way to do it. We're not another state in the union, we're our own unique culture. Of course people in the USA wouldn't find this worth fighting for.

If I may make an analogy that will surely be torn apart, this is like installing soundproofing and turning up the volume on the TV because the neighbour is a bar with concerts going on 24/7. It's our right.