The Replicators Are Here!

I don't know about you, but Star Trek has to be one of my favorite TV shows of all time. I know of at least two other devoted trekkies who watch Star Trek as often as they can. But while most trekkies tend to be impressed with gadgets like Phasers (weapons that shoot something akin to a LASER) or warp drives (engine technology that powers faster than light travel), I tend to marvel at the wonders of the humble replicator. If you've seen Star Trek, you will remember the magical niche in the wall of almost every room in the ship that supplies the crew with everything they desire. It could be Will Riker's request for a shot of Tequila, or Captain Piccard's demand for herbal tea. The replicator always gives them what they want in an instant.

It is a matter of history that science fiction portends future innovations and discoveries in science. In some cases such as the communication satellite, science fiction may even directly inspire invention. And so it has happened that the first steps towards making a viable replicator are already being taken. Quite surprisingly, the precursor to the replicator is nothing but your humble inkjet.

To imagine an inkjet printer as anything other than a printer is truly a leap of faith. But technically speaking, there really isn't a whole lot of difference between what an inkjet does and what an industrial robot does. Think about this, if you were to replace the ink in the ink cartridges with some sort of liquid acrylic, and use a 3D compositing platform (such as silicon or aluminium) instead of paper, you'd be able to make any shape in plastic that you desire. Customized Lego blocks anyone?? Now replace the inks with special fluids, one that is insulating in nature and another that is conductive in nature. Use silicon as a substrate and what you have is any kind of integrated cicuit that your heart desires. Attach this custom printer/robot to a computer and you have a quick way to prototype anything from sculpture to microprocessors.

Of course, getting the inkjet technology to do this stuff is no child's play, but then who said we had any children working on this. There are people all over the world trying to adapt inkjet printers to print things as wide-ranging as tissues/organs to complete housing. There's a group of people who are even looking at printing complete electronic gadgets, essentially turning hardware into intellectual property and making delivery of such goods completely electronic. So in the future, buying a cellphone or a PDA could mean downloading the schematics and actually manufacturing it at home! The possibilities are unlimited. Popular science has a great article this month that prompted me to write this post. I just hope I get to see the Star Trek replicator for real before my time on this planet runs out.