Not so long ago, there was this small internet news about a printer that could self-replicate. It is the RepRap. It did not fly high in the news list, but to me, it is an important achievement.
The RepRap: A self-replicating printer
Why is this important? Because it is one of the small steps toward the universal machine: a machine that builds other machines and that could build a copy of itself. Can you imagine the possibilities?
All you need is the plan for your machine and the raw resources. In fact, once we manage to create such a machine, all that will be worth something will be the plans, the resources and possibly the self-replicating machine unless the plans for it are given for free and you can easily access one to build your own copy.
You want that latest Ferrari, Mercedes or Audi? Buy the plan and get the resources to build it. Is not that beautiful?
The reality with the RepRap is quite far from that. It can builds its own parts but it cannot assemble them. You have to assemble them once they are built. The plans for the RepRap are freely available. There are even guides to help you build your own RepRap from nothing using common tools which are readily available around the world and at a low cost.
The RepRap project and theirs creator have some great noble goals. They want to democratize wealth. By making it easily accessible and low cost, you can have everyone creating their own machines as they need it.
It is an utopia that I wish would come sooner than later.
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