General Dynamics Corporation (ticker: GD, exchange: NYSE)
News Release - Wednesday, June 2, 2004
Press Contact: (703) 271-7316

General Dynamics Completes NASA Study on Machine Self-Replication
Project among first U.S.-sponsored self-replication work in two decades

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), recently completed a six-month study investigating machine self-replication for NASA’s Institute for Advanced Concepts.  General Dynamics examined the design of kinematic self-replicating robotic systems, which are physical machines that can vary in size from a 100 microns to a few feet in diameter, and can build copies of themselves from simple parts.

“We are very excited about this project because self-replication has the potential to reduce the costs of building machines dramatically. It could also make life-saving nanomedical devices affordable for everyone,” said Tihamer Toth-Fejel, General Dynamics research engineer and principal investigator for the project.  “We were surprised when our study suggested that a useful self-replicating system might be less complicated than the processor in a typical personal computer.”

While commercial success of such systems is probably a decade away, it appears that this particular type of modular system, kinematic cellular automata, could have a tremendous impact on hyperflexible morphable structures, such as robots, display monitors, and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), which are integrated circuits that can be programmed in the field after manufacture. The study also examined the machine designs to ensure that they would meet the Foresight Guidelines, protocols designed to address concerns within the scientific community regarding the safety of self-replicative nanotechnologies.

Only twice before have researchers built primitive self-replicating machines.  Self-replication pioneers Robert Freitas and Matt Moses supported the General Dynamics effort as consultants.  Work was completed in Ann Arbor, Mich.  The complete report is available at NASA’s Institute for Advanced Concepts website at: http://www.niac.usra.edu/files/studies/final_report/pdf/883Toth-Fejel.pdf

The contract for the research was awarded on Oct. 1, 2003 in the name of Veridian Inc., which was acquired by General Dynamics and became part of General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems in Aug. 2003.

General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems (GDAIS), headquartered in Arlington, Va., is a leading provider of transformational mission solutions in command, control, communications, and computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR).  Customers include those in the defense, intelligence, homeland security and homeland defense communities.

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, employs approximately 68,400 people worldwide and anticipates 2004 revenue of $19 billion. The company is a market leader in mission-critical information systems and technologies; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and business aviation.

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