Active Self-Assembly of Algorithmic Shapes and Patterns in Polylogarithmic Time

Published on: 2013/06/12

Abstract

DNA nanotechnology provides the tools for engineering ``smart molecular motors that not only move from place to place, but can change their actions based on sensing molecules nearby. Molecular robots, if you will. But don't imagine a single molecular robot. Imagine a swarm of them. Walking on top of each other like bees or ants. What power is there in numbers? What power in the ability to move? On top of one another? Here we develop a theoretical model -- with roots in algorithmic tile self-assembly and L-systems and graph automata -- that can be used to explore what systems of interacting molecular robots can accomplish. As a hint of what's to come, here we examine the fabrication task: build an algorithmically-specified object. We show that our theoretical molecular robots (called ``nubots) can fabricate objects exponentially faster and more compactly than can be done by passive self-assembly systems such as tile assembly.

Authors

Damien Woods, Ho-Lin Chen, Scott Goodfriend, Nadine Dabby, Erik Winfree, and Peng Yin

File

Active Self-Assembly of Algorithmic Shapes and Patterns in Polylogarithmic Time.pdf