The computer inspired by the Japanese art of paper cutting has no electronics and stores data in tiny cubes

Researchers have built a mechanical computer inspired by kirigami, the Japanese art of folding and cutting paper.

The demonstration computer, which has no electronic components, is made up of 64 interconnected 0.06-cubic-inch (1-cubic-centimeter) polymer cubes that can be rearranged to store, retrieve, and erase data. Similar to kirigami, where paper is cut and folded into intricate patterns, the computer can be physically manipulated into different configurations and states.

In this machine, each cube represents a bit of binary data, which can be pushed up or down to represent 1 or 0, respectively. Rearranging the cubes changes the configuration of the computer, allowing the information to be stored or represented in physical form.

Mechanical computer with stable and high density memory – YouTube

To watch

Scientists said the concept could be used to create physical encryption-decryption systems, or even develop tactile systems for 3D environments.

“For example, a specific configuration of functional units could serve as a 3D password,” said the study’s lead author. Yanbin Lipostdoctoral researcher at North Carolina State University’s College of Engineering, said in A declaration“We also want to explore the potential usefulness of these metastructures for creating haptic systems that display information in a three-dimensional context, rather than as pixels on a screen.”

Related: ‘Quantum-inspired’ laser computing is more efficient than supercomputing and quantum computing, startup claims

The researchers published their research on June 26 in the journal Scientific progress.

Mechanical computers date back centuries — potentially from the 2nd century BC — long before the invention of algorithms and Programming languages as we know them today. However, unlike this new kirigami-inspired concept, people operated these machines with gears or levers, making them extremely bulky.

In the new computer, changing the position of one cube changes the position of all connected cubes, thereby changing the computer configuration to match different computational states.

“Using a binary framework — where cubes are either up or down — a simple metastructure of 9 functional units has more than 362,000 possible configurations,” Li said.

Data editing is controlled by pulling on the edges of the metastructure, which stretches the rubber band and pushes the cube up or down. When the band is released, it locks the cubes and data in place. The cubes can also be pushed up or down remotely by attaching a magnetic plate to the computer and applying a magnetic field.

The researchers said the system could enable more complex computations beyond binary code, with cubes capable of occupying states not just 1 or 0 but 2, 3 and 4.

“Each functional unit of 64 cubes can be configured in a wide variety of architectures, with cubes stacked up to five cubes high,” said the study’s co-author. Jie Yinassociate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at North Carolina State University, said in the statement. “This enables the development of computing that goes far beyond binary code.”

The researchers next hope to collaborate with programmers to develop the computer’s code. “Our proof-of-concept work demonstrates the potential scope of these architectures, but we have not developed code that exploits these architectures,” Li said. “We would be interested in collaborating with other researchers to explore the coding potential of these metastructures.”