Developing Insights into
the Design of the
Simplest Self-Replicator
(SSR) and its Complexity
Arminius Mignea – The Lone Pine Software
“Maybe I can say we’re halfway there.”
My attention was grabbed by the following fragment from the interview that Nobel
scientist Jack Szostak gave on October 19, 2011 to New York Times reporter Claudia
Dreifus regarding his research progress on deciphering the Origin Of Life:
“How far have you gotten?
Maybe I can say we’re halfway there.
We think that a primitive cell has to have two parts. First, it has to have a cell
membrane that can be a boundary between itself and the rest of the earth. And then
there has to be some genetic material, which has to perform some function that’s
useful for the cell and get replicated to be inherited…”
(see the full interview here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/18/science/18conversation.html?_r=2&ref=scienc
eandtechnology)
The above answer prompted me to think about how can I get some empirical,
objective knowledge on what the Simplest Self Replicator (SSR) may look like
Goals, Assumptions and Requirements
• Goals:
– Develop insights into internal design of the SSR
– Evaluate complexity in creating an artificial SSR
• Assumptions:
– There is an intake of materials from outside SSR
– There is an output of refuse materials from inside SSR
– We assume throughout that we design for building an artificial
SSR – that need not have a biological basis (not built with
carbon-based chemistry) but is rather a ‘clunky’ one (made from
metal, plastic, semiconductors, etc.)
• Requirements
– SSR has an Enclosure to separate it and protect it from its
environment
– SSR is capable to create an identical copy of itself
The SSR (Simplest Self-Replicator)
Schematic Illustration
SSR enclosure
SSR components (in
blue)
SSR processes (in
red)
What happens during SSR replication?
– the “cloning” phase
What happens during SSR replication?
– the “division” phase
What happens during SSR replication?
• Input raw materials and parts accepted by input enclosure gates
• Input materials processed through material extraction into good materials
for fabrication of parts or for energy generation
• Energy is generated and made available throughout SSR
• Fabrication function starts to fabricate parts, components and assemblies
for:
– Cloning (creating copies) of all SSR internal elements
– Creating scaffolding elements for the growing SSR interior
– Creating new elements that are added to the growing enclosure
• When the cloning of all original SSR internal parts completed, the SSR
division starts:
– The original SSR content is now at (for example) “north pole” of the SSR enclosure
– The cloned SSR content (the “nascent daughter SSR”) is now at the “south pole” of the
SSR enclosure
– The SSR enclosure and its content now divides at the “equatorial” plane and the
separate “mother” (at North) and daughter (at South) SSR emerge.
How is the artificial SSR able to clone accurately
all its internal parts?
Possible answers:
A. By using a mechanical copy process – similar with that used
to duplicate house keys
B. By using internal design information in combination with
computer controlled automatons
How is the artificial SSR able to clone
accurately all its internal parts? continued I
A. By using a mechanical copy process – similar with that used
to duplicate house keys
WRONG ANSWER !!!
How is the artificial SSR able to clone
accurately all its internal parts? Continued II
B. By using internal design information in combination with
computer controlled automatons
CORRECT ANSWER !!!
SSR Functions and Their Relationships
Bill of Materials
Materials & Parts Identif.
Construction Plan
Construction Status
Input Flow
Supply-Chain
Scaffolding Growth
Transport
Fabrication
Enclosure Growth
Materials Extraction
Manipulation
Energy Generation
Fabrication Ctrl&Assmbly
Output Flow
Recycling
Cloning
Division
Communication & Notification
Replication
Input Flow Control, Material Identification
and Material Extraction Functions
• Input Flow Control function
– Opens/closes the enclosure input gateways
– Acts based on the nature of input material/part and
commands from other functions
• Material and Parts Identification function
– Identifies nature of input materials and parts
– Tags input materials and parts, manufactured materials
and fabricated parts with type Id (bar code like)
• Material Extraction function
– Uses specific processes to extract manufacturing materials
from raw materials
– Uses specific machinery and parts
Input Flow Control Function - illustrated
The Enclosure Gateway is closed at this time
Materials and Parts Identification Function
What is the material
the bottle is made of?
It is Chocolate !!!
Yes, but the challenge
is to have a robot
find this out by itself
Material Extraction Function
Energy Generation Function, Transport
Function
• Energy Generation function:
– Generates energy from raw or processed materials
– Distributes/transport and manages energy (electricity)
– Uses special machinery: generators, transformers,
converters
– Material basis: one of fuel, oil, coal, chemical, atomic
• Transport function:
– Transport materials and parts/components
– Uses containers, conduits, wires, carriers
– Transports also energy and information
Supply Chain Function, Recycling Function
and Output Flow Control Function
• Supply Chain function:
– Ensures steady supply of materials, energy and parts
– Coordinating and scheduling capability
• Recycling function:
– Re-introduce useful materials and parts in the
fabrication cycle
– Selects materials and parts as refuse; cleans spaces
• Output Flow Control function:
– Sends refuse materials and parts outside SSR
– Controls output gateways of the enclosure
Bill of Materials Function, Construction Plan
Function, Construction Status Function
• Bill of Materials function:
– Catalogs of all materials and all parts
– For each element: its composition in sub-elements and materials
• Construction Plan function:
– Catalog of construction plan and design of all parts, components,
assemblies including SSR
– Catalog of all processes
– Catalog of all procedures
• Construction Status function:
– Uses replicas of construction plans to mark construction progress
– Status updated by functions involved in fabrication and construction
Manipulation Function, Fabrication
Function, Fabrication Control Function
• Manipulation function:
– Ability to “grab”, “handle”, “manipulate” materials, parts,
components
– Implemented with robot arm – like machinery
• Fabrication Function:
– Must be able to fabricate any and all SSR parts and
components
– In particular able to fabricate all SSR machinery
• Fabrication Control function:
– Follows the construction plans
– Commands the fabrication function to manufacture next
elements in the plan
Communication and Notification Function,
Scaffolding Growth Function, Enclosure Growth
Function
• Communication and Notification function:
– Facilitates communication between the “control”
centers and “execution” centers
– Notifications from “executor” to “controller”
• Scaffolding Growth function:
– Controls construction and growth of SSR scaffolding
– Mostly on the “daughter” SSR side
• Enclosure Growth function:
– Controls the construction and growth of the enclosure
– Addition of enclosure gateways; flexible geometry
Cloning Function, Division Function,
Replication Function
• Cloning function
– Choreographs the cloning phase
– Coordinates fabrication of the clone and growth of scaffolding and
enclosure
– Copies info catalogs and software into the cloned parts
• Division function:
– Choreograph the SSR division phase
– “start the engines” of the “daughter” SSR just before division
completes
• Replication function:
– Highest level function:
– Implements the designer commandments:
• Grow and
• Multiply
SSR Functions and Their Relationships
Bill of Materials
Materials & Parts Identif.
Construction Plan
Construction Status
Input Flow
Supply-Chain
Scaffolding Growth
Transport
Fabrication
Enclosure Growth
Materials Extraction
Manipulation
Energy Generation
Fabrication Ctrl&Assmbly
Output Flow
Recycling
Cloning
Division
Communication & Notification
Replication
What we learned about the artificial SSR?
• SSR must be designed for growth and division: the enclosure must support
changing surface, volume and shape
• SSR must contain detailed, structured, cohesive descriptive information
that must be accurately and integrally passed to next generations SSR.
Required information:
– all used materials: identification, description, characteristics
– manufacturing materials: extraction procedures and processes
– bill of materials for all fabricated parts, components and assemblies
– procedures and processes for energy generation, storage (if needed)
transportation and management
– construction plans for all fabricated parts, components and assemblies
including the SSR itself.
– all fabrication processes and procedures
– all assemblage procedures
– all recycling procedures and processes
What we learned about the artificial SSR? – continued I
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
SSR must contain advanced materials and parts identification capabilities as
well as material extraction capabilities
SSR must contain sophisticated, fully automated and computer-controlled
capabilities for energy generation, transportation, management and
distribution
SSR must contain very sophisticated fabrication and assemblage capabilities
that must be information-driven for full automation and computer control.
SSR must posses advanced computing (information processing) capabilities as
well as good information communication capabilities.
SSR must control its many parts and layered functions through very advanced
software running on SSR computer(-like) machinery.
Above all SSR must be based on a very sophisticated design that harmoniously,
precisely and completely provides full automation and self-sufficiency for all
machinery and processes that happens inside an SSR during its growth,
division and replication.
The design of an SSR can be successful only if it is harmoniously integrated and
precisely coordinated with the design and characteristics of its environment.
What we learned about the artificial SSR? – continued II
An artificial SSR most probable must contain:
• a material mining sub-unit
• a metallurgic subunit
• a chemical plant
• a power plant
• an electricity distribution network
• a network of avenues, alleys and conduits for robotized transportation
• a semiconductor manufacturing plant
• a computer manufacturing plant
• an extended communication network connecting by wire or rather wirelessly
all plants and robots
• a software manufacturing plant and software distribution and installation
agents.
• a materials and parts recycling and refuse management plant
• an army of intelligent robots for transportation and manipulation
• a highly sophisticated distributed, multi-layered software system that controls
in a cohesive manner all plants, robots and communications.
Evaluating the Complexity of an Artificial SSR
SSR: autonomous, computerized and automated
– No comparable real engineering artifact in terms of:
• Autonomy (materials, energy, fabrication closure, information
closure, ‘intelligence’)
• full manufacturing automation
• spectrum of processes and fabrication types
– No successful attempt so far on building a real
autonomous artificial SSR from scratch. Attempts so far:
•
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•
•
•
•
•
software simulations
cellular automata
self-replicating software entities
RepRap – self replicating 3D printers
self-assembling Lego robots
Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS)
Craig Venter’s synthetic bacterial cell
Evaluating the Complexity of an Artificial SSR continued
Comparing a genuine artificial SSR with:
• An advanced car manufacturing/assembly line:
– many/most parts are fabricated elsewhere
– not fully automated; many manual operations performed by
humans
– no material identification, material extraction capabilities
– not so many process technologies involved
– mostly an assembly operation
• The Large Hadron Collider (HDC) in Switzerland
– no fabrication
– not comparable in terms of automation, process diversity
• The Martian Rover
– some good amount of autonomy
– no fabrication
SSR and the Origin Of Life (OOL) Research
Any OOL credible explanation should provide answers to the following
questions:
• How the self describing information (of so many varieties) residing
in the SSR originated?
• How the energy generation and transport function originated?
• How the material identification function and the material extraction
function originated?
• How the fabrication function originated
• How the transport and manipulation functions originated?
• How the coordinated control of various functions originated?
• How the whole sophisticated design of the SSR originated?
• Is it reasonable to believe/accept that the SSR resulted through
random/natural processes when the 21st century scientists are only
beginning to understand only SOME OF THE INTERNALS of a cell?
• Is it reasonable to believe/accept that the SSR resulted through
random/natural processes when the 21st century scientists and
engineers are still not able to design and create an artificial SSR?
NASA Advanced Automation for Space Missions
The NASA 1980 study1 edited by Robert A. Freitas, Jr. describes a lunar selfreplicating factory to be launching pad of galaxy exploration self-replicating
probes ( a 20 year program).
•
The seed of the lunar factory will weigh
100 tons
• Not all machinery could be built on
Moon
• The project anticipated as being
feasible in 21st century
• The study mentions that the
closure problem is not solved
This study is one of the most realistic
exploration of the design of an
artificial “macro” SSR
1. “Advanced Automation for Space Missions“ Edited by Robert A. Freitas, Jr.
Space Initiative/XRI Santa Clara, California at http://www.islandone.org/MMSG/aasm/
REPRO – Colonizing the Galaxy
In 1980 Robert A. Freitas publishes in the Journal
of the British Interplanetary Society “A SelfReproducing Interstellar Probe” (REPRO) study1.
• REPRO was a mammoth self-reproducing
spacecraft to be built in orbit around Jupiter.
• REPRO was a vast and ambitious project,
equipped with numerous smaller probes for
planetary exploration, but its key purpose was
to reproduce. Each REPRO probe would create
an automated factory that would build a new
probe every 500 years. Probe by probe, star by
star, the galaxy would be explored2.
• The total fueled mass of REPRO was projected
to be 10**10 Kg = 10 **7 tons = 10 million tons
for a probe mass of 100,000 tons.
• It takes 500 years to REPRO to create a replica
of itself in the relative hospitable environment
of a far-away planet
• The estimated exploration time of the galaxy
was 1– 10 million years
1.
2.
http://www.rfreitas.com/Astro/ReproJBISJuly1980.htm
2. “Via Nanotechnology to the Stars” by Paul Gilster at http://www.centauridreams.org/?p=96
Earth – Was “seeded” with Self Replicators (SRs) by
an Advanced Civilization and a Master Designer
Our Earth was seeded with a wide variety of SRs by and advanced
civilization and a Master Designer:
• There are an estimated 9,7 million species of organisms (plants,
animals, fish, insects, bacteria SRs) on planet EARTH
• The total number of self-replicating machines (SR’s) that work
cooperatively on this planet is hard to estimate. It is believed that
the number is between 10^20 (1 followed by 20 zeros) and 10^30
(1 followed by 30 zeros)
• There are strong dependencies between the design and existence
of certain type of SRs on the design and existence on other type of
SRs. For example the number of bacteria living within the body of
the average healthy Homo Sapiens are estimated to outnumber
human cells 10 to 1.
• There are strong dependencies of the design and functioning of all
SR types on the Earth environments and planetary environment
conditions
A Dragonfly type of Self Replicator
Garden Flower Type of Self Replicator
A Tree Type of Self-Replicator
Self Replicating Trees
The Metaphysics of It All
A reasonable scientific hypothesis is that the Master Designer
designed wisely all SSR types for this successful cohabitation
of the Homo Sapiens SSR with all other types of SSRs.
• More so it is hypothesized (again scientifically) that the
Earth, the Solar System, the Milky Way Galaxy and the
Whole Universe was designed by the Master Designer so
that Homo Sapiens has a comfortable place to live.
• More so, besides having a comfortable place to live Homo
Sapiens have plenty of SSR types to study and to marvel at
the fabulous skills of the Master Designer revealed so
blatantly in His SSR designs.
• More so, besides having amazing engineering feats to
discover and admire, the Homo Sapiens has a rightful
Master Designer to praise and worship all his life.