MIT researcher Skylar Tibbits and his students are working on a way to make Buildings that assemble themselves. By embedding computers into the bricks and other building materials the structural components will be able to communicate the design intent to each piece so that they can collaborate on achieving the desired form.

Skylar Tibbit’s research involves using natural structures like proteins and DNA as the models for his proposed building blocks. To be successful each cell must have four key factors for success.

1. The ability to decode, all of the complexity of what we want to build and break it into simple sequences..

2. Have programmable parts that can take the sequences and use it to reconfigure.

3. Some sort of energy to power them and allow them to activate.

4. A method of error checking.

MIT students built a self positioning robot to demonstrate the process. Macrobot is an  8′ long robot proteins that fold up into shapes that your want to build. The individual Truncated Cone components rotate to programmed positions, check their in the right spot and then pass on instructions to the next module in the chain. The complex gear drive inside each cone allows the cone to rotate.

More research is taking place into this promising technology. To find out more you can check out Skylar Tibbit’s blog at http://www.sjet.us/