Self-assembly method for mechanical structure

A novel design method for a mechanical system is proposed and a prototype model is constructed. Conventional machine systems are composed of various parts which are all passive. In this new scheme, mechanical systems are made with only one kind of active and intelligent unit. The prototype of this kind of unit is called a “fractum”, which has actuators, sensors, and information processing functions. In the system, there is no supervising unit nor central controller. The units are all the same and have an equivalent capacity, so that any of them can replace any other unit. Knowledge about the whole system is embedded in every unit, and this enables a group of these units to organize the whole system by themselves and to repair it by themselves. The algorithm for this self-organization and self-repair is designed and tested by computer simulations.