Claytronics - The Human Experience Redefined[1]
Chong Hui Qi (huiqi.chong.2013@accountancy.smu.edu.sg),
1st Year student, Bachelor of Accountancy, Singapore Management
University
Executive
Summary
This
paper examines the potential breakthrough of Claytronics into numerous
industries such as telecommunications, healthcare, education and modelling
based on the concept of transmissible synthetic reality also known as Pario.
This paper will then analyse on the potential positive impacts and drawbacks on
its applications, as well as other possible health, environmental and social
implications.
1
Introduction
The
Claytronics Project is an on-going research project at Carnegie Mellon
University in collaboration with Intel Labs Pittsburgh, led by a Carnegie
Mellon computer science professor, Professor Seth Goldstein. The team of
researchers combined both nanotechnology and telepresence together, to produce
Claytronics.
Claytronics is a collection of
programmable matter, known as catoms, or claytronic atoms, and they are the
basic building blocks of Claytronics. Each catom is capable of receiving
electronic instructions, processing information, moving in three-dimensional
space relative to other catoms, and adhering to other catoms to maintain a 3D
shape. Adhesion could be achieved by magnetism or electrostatic forces. As of
2011, successful trials have been carried out with relatively large-scale
catoms that can move relative to one another in two dimensions using
electromagnets that can be switched on and off as required. It is anticipated
that catoms will be mass-produced at the sub-millimetre and even nanometre
scale, allowing collections of millions of catoms to be manipulated, and
developing a wide range of applications (Phil
Riddel, 2013).
Synthetic reality has significant
advantages over current technologies such as virtual and augmented reality
(Goldstein and Mowry, 2004). For example, there is no need for the user to use
any form of sensory augmentation such as head mounted displays, bionic contact
lenses, Google Glass etc. or haptic feedback devices for virtual simulation and
will be able to see, touch, or even use the object itself. The invention of
Claytronics will arguably revolutionize the lives of man.
Limitations
of paper
It has to be noted that this
paper has its limitations which include the lack of specific examples,
statistics and analytical evidence to support what were proposed. This stems
from the lack of resources as well as open-source information available for reference,
especially when “The Claytronics Project” is still an on-going one. In
addition, this paper could have covered in greater detail, on the hardware and
software of Claytronics, as well as its research challenges faced.
Nevertheless, the author has, to the best of her abilities and knowledge,
provided her analysis, evaluations and insights throughout the paper.
2
Historical Perspectives
Emergence of virtual and augmented reality
Synthetic
reality is a new platform introduced only in the recent years as compared to
virtual and augmented reality which existence dated back in history. The latter
two are interlinked in their concepts in a way that each can be viewed as a
subset of the other.
Virtual
reality, on the other hand, is a medium composed of interactive computer
simulations that sense the position of the participant and replace or augment
the feedback to one or more senses – giving the feeling of being immersed in
the simulation.
|
Figure 1. Heilig's Sensorama. Reproduced from The Ohio State
University. (2003)
|
In 1961, the next notable invention, also known as “Headsight”, was built by
Philco Corporation engineers. This head-mounted display consists of a video
screen along with a tracking system, which is linked to a closed circuit camera
system. A user could observe a real environment remotely, adjusting the camera
angle by turning his head. This technology had been applied in the military
field, where pilots for example, are able to train under a simulated
environment of flying in the dark. While these devices contributed intellectual
ideas for display and virtual experiences, the computer and image generation
were yet to be integrated.
|
Figure 2. “The Ultimate
Display”. Reproduced from The Ohio State University. (2003)
|
Exploratory
engineering
Another
alternative point of view towards Claytronics is viewing it as a work of exploratory engineering.
K. Eric Drexler
describes exploratory engineering as the process of
designing and analysing detailed hypothetical models of systems that are not
feasible with current technologies or methods, yet seemingly lie within the
bounds of what Science considers as possible in the narrowly defined scope of
operation of the hypothetical system model. It usually results in paper or video prototypes,
or computer models that are as convincing as
possible to those that know the relevant science, given the lack of
experimental confirmation. In other words, exploratory engineering is the
exploration and extrapolation of modern technology.
Others
have also positioned exploratory engineering as a solution – one where its
putative characteristics and the principles of engineering science have to come
hand-in-hand to implement it in our real life. And only when the activity
transits from proto-engineering to actual engineering will the success or
failure of such an implementation be clear.
Proponents
and critics have been debating over Claytronics as a form of exploratory
engineering ever since the idea first came out in 2005. It is imperative that we note all these opinions are
centred on the concepts of reality – augmented reality, simulated reality, and
virtual reality. What really distinguishes between the opinionated visions of
proponents and critics is the boundary which would take exploratory engineering
out of the realm of mere speculation, defining it as a realistic design
activity that is often indiscernible to such critics, and, at the same time, inexpressible
by the proponents of exploratory engineering.
Yet both critics and proponents often agree that
much of the highly detailed simulation effort in the field may never result in a
physical device. Hence, without the practicality means, scientists saw no need
for this project on Claytronics. It was only when its founding fathers – Seth Goldstein, associate professor of
computer science at Carnegie Mellon, and Todd Mowry, Director of the Intel
Research Lab-Pittsburgh, were investigating the idea of physicality and the
need for physicality in today’s world, where convenience supersedes most of
consumers’ priorities that Claytronics began to find its presence in today’s
technology.
In summary, the critics contend that while
Claytronics is consistent with the laws of science concerning its operation,
all it merely does is communicate information in the form of imaginative 3D
images – there is still the absence of a path to build the device modelled,
providing no evidence that the desired device can be built. Proponents contend
that there are so many potential ways to build the desired device that surely
at least one of those ways will not display a critical flaw preventing the
materialization of Claytronics.
Birth of Claytronics
The birth of Claytronics, according to Seth
Goldstein, stems from both inspiration as well as natural evolution from
previous research. Before “The Claytronics Project”, Goldstein was researching
on molecular computing. In molecular electronics, the essential idea is to
influence a computation by changing the shape of molecules as when molecules
take up a different shape, they confer different electrical properties. He thought,
of reversing the process, and instead, formulate computations that results in
the shape-changing molecules. Goldstein developed on this idea and eventually
classified these molecules as programmable matter.
What further triggered him to embark on “The
Claytronics Project” was the inspiration he drawn from attending a conference
hosted by CRA (Computer Research Association) together with Todd Mowry, who was
interested in improving communication. Goldstein thought that his idea on
programmable matter was an answer to Mowry’s intention, and hence, they
proposed to start “The Claytronics Project”, instead of waiting for
nanotechnology to come up with a solution (G4TV,
2008).
3
Current Situation
As of 2012, only four catoms have been successfully operated
together in three dimensions (Guin,
2012). However, the aim is to have catoms operate on a
large-scale basis, in order to put them into useful, practical applications.
Colour and texture are also areas to be researched further. As of 2006,
researchers have already created a prototype catom that is 44 millimetres in
diameter (Wang, 2007). When particles are small enough, it stimulates texture. The
goal is to eventually produce catoms that are one or two millimetres in diameter
– small enough to produce convincing replicas. It is anticipated that in the
long run, the aforementioned challenges will be overcome and three out of the
five human senses, namely sight, touch and sound can be achieved.
Claytronics is
currently still under on-going research.
4
Future Considerations
Claytronics is a
technology-driven invention, where the growing knowledge in the field of
Science, insights and discoveries has led to the invention of this new
technology that was inconceivable in the past. Sometimes, supply creates
demand, where consumers do not realize they need something until they see or
experience it. Claytronics is one example that illustrates this point, where it
is able to meet the needs of consumers which were previously unimagined as well
as, providing solutions to previously unanticipated problems in certain
industries today. In this section, the application of Claytronics will be
covered in further detail in the following industries below.
4.1
Telecommunications
The telecommunications industry
has changed radically over the years, from the use of smoke signals and drums
in prehistoric times, to the use of electrical methods such as the telephone in
the 18th century and progressively till today, the use of electronic
methods such as the radio, television, internet, computer and mobile
networking. However, these forms of communications centralize mainly on either
auditory, visual communications or both.
With Pario, the human-to-human communication
will completely revolutionize. There will be three platforms, namely auditory,
visual and physical touch to interact upon. With the extra factor of touch, communication
is made more realistic where one interacts with other computer generated
persons as if they were real. Shape, movement, visual appearance, sound, and
tactile qualities of each person will be mimicked, just like a replica
(Goldstein and Mowry, 2004).
Video-conferencing today is
limited to two-dimensional images. In the future, however, Claytronics can be
used to transmit three-dimensional images, even if the recipient is
considerably far away. Such application is termed as parioconferencing
(Goldstein et al., 2009), where virtual meetings can be carried out with the
physical presence of the person can be felt. This would be a useful tool
especially for large companies such as Multi-National Companies (MNCs), which
outsource their businesses to their counterparts overseas. Meetings can be
discussed from wherever they are, and they will experience a meeting with their
counterparts assembled from millions of catoms and yet be unable to distinguish
the difference of synthetic reality from true reality.
Parioconferencing is also
beneficial in saving time for those with tight schedules. For instance,
ministers can save the time and trouble of travelling across the globe to
another country for G8 and G20 Summits meetings.
Parioconferencing can also be
viewed as one step further from 3D imaging – think holography, 3D films, and 3D
computer graphics. Claytronics goes beyond 3D imaging in a stipulated location.
Instead, it allows 3D imaging to be emulated over long distances and
additionally, allowing physical interactivity. This is the future; 3D
video-conferencing.
4.2
Healthcare
Figure 3.
Projection of total population, elderly population and elderly dependency.
Reproduced from World Health
Organization (2008)
Such
strain on the healthcare sector can be reduced with telemedicine, which can be
extended further with Pario to enhance its application. Telemedicine, equipped
with Pario, will allow a patient to consult a doctor in a different country or
even a different continent, while being able to feel one another’s physical
presence with claytronic emulations. Transportation costs, along with the
pollution from travel, will be cut and time previously wasted from queuing will
be saved, thereby increasing efficiency in the healthcare sector, all these
without being short-changed and experiencing anything less compared to a real
consultation with the doctor. In fact, mortality rates may possibly lower with
this new application, with more timely treatments or surgeries. This can be
further extended to third world countries where healthcare standards are
relatively lower than that of first world countries, where facilities and
equipment are less advanced and doctors and medical personnel are less
adequately equipped with the relevant knowledge and skills. However, the
affordability of this technology by the third world countries is a cause of
concern, which will be further elaborated in the later sections below.
Another
possible application in the future would be the increased efficiency and
accuracy at which urgent and intricate surgeries are performed. The organs to
be performed on can be magnified into claytronic replicas for the surgeon to
work on in a physically more open environment. Concurrently, the claytronic
replica of the surgeon will mimic the surgeon’s actions and perform the surgery
accordingly.
4.3
Education
“Imagination
will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere.”
-Carl Sagan
-Carl Sagan
Even with today’s high-tech
gadgets, we should realise that very little methods have touched on the
learning platforms of imagination. In fact, this is very important as how one
perceives information will ultimately form an image in one’s brain. This is the
most basic, yet inevitable way humans learn. Claytronics can thus be the new
platform for imagining and more effective and creative learning. With Claytronics,
instead of visual drawings or even plain reading, images can be built with
catoms and coupled together with visual details and hearing explanations,
providing a whole new way to teach and learn. Additionally, it is widely known
that learning centres today are centralising their resources on better teaching
methods and platforms to reach out to students – with Claytronics, the learning
curve would definitely become gentler.
Teleconferencing, coupled with
Pario, will possibly revolutionize the classroom setting as well. Professors,
in the future, can work from home, cutting transportation costs as well as saving
time, without compromising on interactivity and the quality of the lesson
delivered.
However, likewise as healthcare,
a challenge would be to bring Claytronics to the benefit of those in third
world countries who possibly are unable to afford this technology. A possible
solution to this is perhaps, to tie up with non-profit organizations with
similar goals to improve educational standards in developing countries. One
example would be the “One Laptop per Child (OLPC)” Project, supported by the
Miami-based One Laptop per Child Association (OLPCF) and the Cambridge-based
OLPC Foundation (OLPCF). Funds were raised via the “Give 1 Get 1” Program,
where donors received an XO-1 laptop for their own usage and OLPC would send
another to a child in a developing country. Currently, this project has
benefited many countries across the globe in different continents. Some
countries include Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Mexico, Uruguay, Afghanistan, India and
Papua New Guinea. Likewise, it is possible to tie up with such non-profit
organizations that are willing to invest, and distribute this technology
through the ministries of education of these countries, with the goal of
improving learning and education standards.
4.4
Modelling
Given its shape-shifting
abilities, Claytronics will eliminate the need for excessive consumer products.
There will be no need for having a chair, a table, a couch and a bed, when one
can have his needs met with Claytronics. Furniture will have double-duty and be
able to morph into any form of furniture to adapt to one’s needs accordingly. This
goes the same for cell phones. Jason Campbell, a senior researcher at Intel,
said in an interview that the Claytronics will change the way people interact
with devices such as computers and cell phones in significant ways (Gaudin, 2008). Catoms can be manipulated to
create a larger keypad for text messaging, or to expand its video display as
needed and when not in used, be commanded to minimize into a small form for
easy storage. In addition, because each catom has the ability to store energy,
once it is configured, there will not be energy expended when one wants a
certain form or shape to remain (G4TV, 2008).They can be personalized as well,
with its structure moulded precisely to suit the needs of the user. Self-healing
is another property; Claytronics is able to fix scratches and damages should
there be any (Damus, 2012). The possibilities are endless.
Figure 5.
Product designing possibilities, one of the many applications of Claytronics.
Reproduced from The Journal of the International
Association of Physics Students (2013, July 2)
5
Potential implications
This section will examine the
potential health, environmental and social implications (affordability,
availability and over-reliance) of Claytronics.
5.1
Health
Claytronics
consists of programmable particles which cannot be seen with the naked eye. The
extremely small size of catoms means that they can be easily inhaled by humans.
Immunity may deteriorate as these foreign particles may cause stresses on
phagocytes (white blood cells that ingest and destroy foreign matter), which might
lead to inflammation and as a result, weaken the body’s defence against other
pathogens. Another issue that is of concern is the possible interference of
these non-biodegradable particles with biological processes of the human body
should they accumulate in large masses. Also, due to the electronic nature of
catoms, with each having electromagnetic communications, humans may face a health
threat due to the increased electromagnetic radiation.
It
might be the very first time in history that man can get (physically) sick from
a computer virus, few decades down the road (Koks, 2008).
5.2
Environment
Given
the small size of catoms, there is a possibility that they are able to get into
water supplies or get released into the air during production, especially when
these particles are so tiny which renders detection and control a difficult and
arduous task. Being non-biodegradable, they will accumulate in the soil or water.
Should animals ingest them, the food chain will be disrupted should they suffer
or be at risk of health threats.
Another issue of concern would be
the disposal of these catoms as waste during faults in production. There is a need for appropriate measures to be
implemented to deal with this excess and unwanted waste.
5.3
Social
5.3.1
Affordability
As a highly advanced technology, the cost of manufacturing catoms
is high, especially when dealing with large objects or a person which requires
millions of catoms operating together. Costs from research and development are
likely to be passed down to consumers as well. Moreover, machines involved when
operating this technology are also very costly. In fact, perhaps even those
with above average income will not be able to afford it.
Governments and companies are probably the only few entities that
would be able to afford such equipment at such high costs. Therein lies the
problem - If only the rich and powerful are able to afford it, what good can it
serve to the general public? Will such a project be sustainable at such high
costs? Unless scientists manage to find a way to power up these catoms to serve
their purpose in a cheap and affordable way, it is highly unlikely that
Claytronics will be affordable to the general public. Ultimately, the question
is whether consumers are willing and able to venture into and invest in this
technology given its high costs.
Hopefully, the cost of using Claytronics will reduce over the
years after the high initial costs in research and development are covered and
stabilize in the market in the future.
5.3.2
Availability
As
with accordance to affordability, materials needed to build the machines
required to power up catoms must be easily accessible for this project to be
sustainable in the long term. However, this remains a puzzle to be solved as
the project is still underway, hence machinery required to use Claytronics are
not yet finalised.
However,
the biggest problem lies with the usage of nanotechnology in Claytronics. It is
a plain fact that nanotechnology is not open for usage for the general public. Calls for tighter regulation of
nanotechnology have occurred alongside a growing debate related to the human
health and safety risks of nanotechnology as well. Thus, use of
nanotechnology is definitely limited and this questions the usability of Claytronics.
Moreover,
as an advanced technology, not many scientists may possess the knowledge to use
machinery to control the catoms; some may even not know of its existence.
Hence, only a selected few of scientists involved in the invention process will
be skilled enough to use Claytronics. How such knowledge will be disseminated
to other scientists will also affect its accessibility. Mass-production of
Claytronics is an issue of consideration.
5.3.3
Over-reliance
Claytronics
paves a new way of human-computer interaction so real that one may not be able
to differentiate it from human-human interaction. Assuming that Claytronics is
readily available and affordable to the general public, this marriage between
the tangible and intangible brings about many benefits but there is a need to
be cautious that such usage on this technology does not extend to over-reliance
on it such that the occurrence of authentic human interaction is reduced.
6
Conclusions
In summary, Claytronics will
introduce thrilling changes in the lives of man in many major industries across
the globe, including healthcare, education, modelling and especially,
telecommunications. We need to take precautions, however, in light of the
potential drawbacks Claytronics poses. Overall, this field still has much
potential which remains to be explored. It would be fascinating to watch how
this technology unfolds in the future, where imagination translates to reality.
The possibilities are boundless. Claytronics, the human experience redefined
indeed.
7
References
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Guin (2012, June 4-8) Programmable Matter - Claytronics Retrieved from http://www.isa.org/filestore/microsites/TP12IIS019.pdf
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Wang (2007, May 2) Claytronics: programmable grit, steps toward utility fog
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Figure 1. Heilig's Sensorama. The Ohio State
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Reproduced from http://design.osu.edu/carlson/history/lesson17.html
Figure 2. “The Ultimate Display”. The Ohio State
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Reproduced from http://design.osu.edu/carlson/history/lesson17.html
Figure
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Your Health Your Life (2008) Retrieved from http://www.wpro.who.int/health_services/hongkong_nationalhealthplan.pdf
Figure
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