Hold in your mind an image of a self-repairing robot?

1. How big is it, what range of bigness?
2. Is it biomimetic (eg. Data), or mechanomimetic (eg. Wall-e), or other?
3. What is the minimum set of raw materials it would need to make itself from?
4. Could a self-repairing robot set down on a world without biology and survive?

5. What is a robot, what are its limits?

I’ve had three or four goes at designing robots in my life. All three with maximum mobility with minimum intelligence. One was a running quadruped, one a dragonfly mimic with flapping wings, one with one moving part (a slinky), and one with no moving parts (a briefcase that cajoled people in to carrying it where it wanted to go).

I guess the ability to repair itself would depend on what’s wrong with it. Can we ever design a Mars Rover (for example) to brush itself off after a dust storm?

Divine Angel said:

I guess the ability to repair itself would depend on what’s wrong with it. Can we ever design a Mars Rover (for example) to brush itself off after a dust storm?

I think Curiosity already does. It uses a puff of compressed air.

mollwollfumble said:

Divine Angel said:

I guess the ability to repair itself would depend on what’s wrong with it. Can we ever design a Mars Rover (for example) to brush itself off after a dust storm?

I think Curiosity already does. It uses a puff of compressed air.

Apologies. InSight does, Curiosity doesn’t.

to conceptualize it, a starting point, i’m thinking some sort of sphere, made of rubber type material, that can divide, the electronics and other hardware is mostly duplicated in all spheres, can communicate via radio, and direct connect after division

so rather than self repair you have duplication, interconnectivity, and the capacity to divide, some attributes similar to organic replicators

transition said:

to conceptualize it, a starting point, i’m thinking some sort of sphere, made of rubber type material, that can divide, the electronics and other hardware is mostly duplicated in all spheres, can communicate via radio, and direct connect after division

so rather than self repair you have duplication, interconnectivity, and the capacity to divide, some attributes similar to organic replicators

Thank you. That makes perfect sense.

Anyone else want to comment?