[krayvonk]

The milk thing is cool, thanks!

its 5 times cheaper than epoxy resin! =)    probably not as strong, and theres more tricks to learn about it,   one of the extra tricks is soaking it with cold tea, for a short time, and it improves the strength.   takes about 2 days to dry,   I think you can put it in the microwave and it dries quicker.

What im planning on doing with it,  isnt the brain (which is a very difficult thing to attempt....) just making motor-servo joins and brackets and the main framework for the robot, resin seems like a really good idea,  you wont need a single screw to do it that way.  (its not as tough,  bolt together stuff is tough as nuts and bolts.)
That job is fairly simple in general, the body of a bot, everyone can pretty much handle it, its just like lego after all, and resin is a cool way to do it.

[frankinstien]

You've got an interesting idea. 

Have you thought of placing those cubes in a colloid, populate it with varying cubes with different contact points and let them swim around to find each other? You could use an electro-magnet(s) in the cubes and power them with a microwave or RF signal externally. Each cube could then buildup resistance to inputs depending on how many cubes end up connecting to it.

An alternative is to use LEDs and photodetectors as the actual communications between cubes and just use the electromagnets to move the cubes about in the colloid. Now here's the real interesting part of using LEDs for communications: You could then communicate with the formed circuits of your cubes through the LEDs and photosensors as well! So these cubes float in this clear gel and you could form say a sphere with LEDs and photosensors around the container of the colloid with cubes and now you got a means of 3 dimensional parallel I/O from the circuits formed by the cubes. 
 

[HS]

Thanks, that's where I would like this technology to go. Vast numbers of artificial neurons suspended in a stable, clear, heat conductive gel like substance. Tiny bots could then navigate around the brain clearing out damaged neurons and replacing them. I like the idea of it being a colloidal mixture, it would reduce the need for precise density matching between the neurons and the medium they are suspended in. The tricky part is getting the programming/types of neurons dialed in enough that once this mixture is injected into an appropriately equipped cranial cavity, they would self organize themselves into a generally intelligent network.

The apparent options for non contact communication such as light, sound, radio, or Bluetooth, as well as the miniaturization required, proved too difficult and/or expensive for the time being. So, I've left that part of the system sit until inspiration strikes, or new technology becomes available and affordable. I've made the communication physical by using electrical connections while I think about the programming aspect of it. At first in broad concepts, but hopefully narrowing down to the specifics which could produce useful results. 

You've seen my attempt at mind molecules in that thread with the picture of different types of neurons fitted together, where I'd hoped these mind molecules could be fitted together like a 3D Tetris or a homogeneous solid of some kind. The closest I've gotten to that is a simple crosshatch which generates multiple 3D networks within each other.  Neurons remain in contact with some types more than others, but they still end up enmeshed in a better approximation of the random distribution which would occur in a gel, while still allowing neurons of the same type to be in direct communication with each other, like what would also be possible in a gel.

Light as a power source seems to be the best option. As for communication, wireless waves of unique frequencies for the emitters, and individually adjustable frequency filters for the receivers look like they could create a tunable network.

Eventually, by having something like a field programmable gate array in each physical neuron, it might be possible to have an adjustable net governing the function of each neuron. That way the network could become more compact by reducing the total number of required physical neurons, thereby increasing the total computational capacity per set number of nodes, and become capable of fine-tuning itself to a greater degree.

[HS]

I'm switching the design, the Blinky robot will consist of just one cube. That will bring it closer to the original premise of a tiny aquatic sun feeding creature, it will simplify the programming, and I'll finally have a legitimate reason to print out and assemble a couple of these! Blinky will still run a narrative loop, but it will be self contained instead of a huge communication network. I'll still try to make multiple cubes and allow them to interact, but they will be individuals rather than a collective system. If I'm able to do that, then for my next project I might try to make something multicellular.



There are jet tubes on the edges, water would be pushed through by internal propellers. The blue circles are solar panels. The arrow shaped windows are for signaling/communication/sensing. Electromagnets on the springs for docking/holding onto things. The two halves of the shell are slightly offset to show how they fit together.

[HS]

Woops. Project creep, I guess. At least now it should be able to move around a bit faster. If Blinky turns out to be sea/sky worthy, UFO sightings will definitely increase in my area.
 


So, what's new? Well I got inspired by the spherical Westworld brain design. That should help with creating a reliable center of gravity, all the batteries and processors will go in there, it will also glow different colors for communication. This pairs nicely with a cubic interface, that way you get three layers; sensors, cables, and data handling. I increased the rotors to a more reasonable size, and subtracted electromagnets in favor of quad copter cameras, (which will go in the center holes). The idea is that the Blinky's will observe and equalize each other's color temperatures as way of communication. Blue would indicate high alertness, and a red would communicate relaxation, these would alter the thresholds for certain behaviors.