So in "The Terminator" robots attempt to take over the world once they achieve the ability to produce other robots. In Star Trek they have the replicator which makes whatever they need seemingly from nothing. Throughout Sci Fi literature there is always a desire to have a machine that can recreate machines similar to itself. In his 1966 book "The Theory of Self-Reproducing Automata" (published posthumously), John von Neumann suggested the "Universal Constructor", a self-copying machine. Now, some 40 years later their is a group make this concept a reality. The RepRap Project is attempting to use Rapid Prototyping technology to produce a machine which can make other machines including itself. There are many challenges to this effort. For example how do you create electronic circuits in this machine? But progress is being made. So the future is nearer than you think. Will the result be "Star-Trek-like" where technology free's humans to be explorers and thinkers or will it be "Terminator-like" where machines take over the world? I think the choice is up to us. What do you think?
