ADVANCEMENTS IN AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY

ADVANCED CAR SAFETY AND EMERGENCY SERVICES

USING CLAYTRONICS

SUBMITTED BY
AUTHORS: P. BALAJI
J.SELVIN CEPHUS
COLLEGE: KARUNYA UNIVERSITY
E-MAIL: selvincephus@gmail.com
PHONE: 9042046935

ABSTRACT:

Claytronics is an abstract future concept that combines nanoscale robotics

and computer science to create individual nanometre-scale computers called claytronic
atoms, or catoms, which can interact with each other to form tangible 3-D objects that a
user can interact with.
I propose to present an application of this to-be technology in car safety and
emergency services. The car will be equipped with cameras and shock sensors which
are used to collect every second data of the current driving session and store it in a
hard disk. When the car meets with an accident the data is automatically transferred
immediately to the nearest hospital, police station and a registered phone number using
a GPS device. Now the most interesting part of all is that a current physical
resemblance of the driver and other passengers are formed in a hospital (this is not the
original body but a physical 3-D structure of the victims) using CLAYTRONIC ATOMS
or CATOMS which are modular reconfigurable (millimetre scale or nanoscale) robots.
And the doctors can operate in that 3-D structure in the hospital and the corresponding
operation is done on the victims at the crash site, by some other nanoscale robots
present in the car itself.

INTRODUCTION:
The advancement of automobile industry is just a matter of time
and resources as the ideas of a modern world are already brewing in every industrial
portal. Claytronics, a brain child of Seth Goldstein, associate professor of computer
science at Carnegie Mellon, and Todd Mowry, Director of the Intel Research LabPittsburgh, this is the latest and most revolutionizing research project being carried out.
It demonstrates extremely scalable modular robotics to transform the shape and color of
objects using complex algorithms and high speed communication between the catoms.
In this paper we will discuss how the research findings of
claytronics can affect the car safety and emergency services in a remarkably alarming
and unbelievable way. By the advancement of this technology, the car can be repaired
using a simple instruction or command from a service station situated at very great
distance from the actual repair station. This technology is mainly dependent on the
miniaturization of electronics and also advancement in fabrication techniques to support
such small scale device fabrication. This also requires development of complex
algorithms to face the many challenges associated with programming and controlling a
large number of discrete modular systems due to the degrees of freedom that
correspond with each module or the catom. Also the program should facilitate the inter
communication between the two catoms. The catoms are held together by electromagnetic forces, these are the same forces which are responsible for the for the paper
bits to stick to a comb which was used to comb oiled hair.
A black box is a device which records all the information in an aeroplane
during its flight. The information stored in this black box is very crucial is knowing the

cause or the immediate effects of the accident in the air craft. A similar black box can be
placed in a car also. Some communication companys have developed such black
boxes for cars. This black box has a camera also and records all information about the
passengers and also the path of travel and the position of the car using an interface
between Google earth software. The driver or the passengers in the car are fitted with
devices which monitor their body parameters and store them from time to time. Any
destructive change in the body parameters will automatically send information to a
nearby hospital and the hospital can diagnose the patient depending on these
conditions.
All the above might seem like a fairy tale, but the advancement in nanotechnology and claytronics can revolutionize the way accidents are handled and the
way emergency services are operated.

EMERGENCY CAR SERVICE:

Total

Pedestrians

Cycles

Mopeds

Motor
cycles

Passengers
Other
cars

Killed

164,677

39,670

6,872

3,151

10,9720

75,615

28,397

Injured

6,118,844

436,422

236,027

163,854

227,946

3,751,024

1,303,571

Total

6,283,521

476,092

242,899

167,005

238,918

3,826,639

1,331,968

Fig:1.0
**Table and Diagram taken from http://www.unece.org/trans/roadsafe/rs3ras.html
The above statistics shows that 60% of the total road accidents was due
to passenger cars, that accounts about 3,826,639 people. This makes it obvious that
car safety is a very major concern and also emergency services in case these things
occurred are even more important. For further reduction of these numbers it is very
important to study these accidents very closely and capture the data that can be
mustard in the first few seconds of an accident. This can be done by using a black-box
in the cars to collect all the information during a driving session and store it in its harddrive. The black box also stores the immediate data just an instant after the accident
giving very valuable information about the cause of the accident. This data can be used
to analyze these accidents and develop safer pastures for driving.

Fig 1.1: Black Box

The idea is to model the data that has been acquired from the black box
placed in the car into 3-D objects which a user, can interact with. The service station on
receiving the data will analyze the crash and make repairs to the cars 3D model in the
service station and the actual car is repaired wherever it is.

Fig 1.2: Car formed by Catom

EMERGENCY HOSPITAL SERVICES:

This can be expressed by the following example stated in the Carnegie
Mellon University website. A veteran heart surgeon, whose hands aren't as
steady at age 60, could create a model heart that would grow to a more workable
size. The surgeon would then "operate" on the model, and each movement of the
scalpel would transmit to a robot inside a patient's actual heart, a robot that
would perform the life saving procedure with a more delicate touch.**
In case the accident was very serious and there was no enough time to
transport the patient to the hospital, the accident victim can be operated at that same
location using a claytronic model of that person. The patient can be fitted with
emergency wrist bands which can read the body parameters of the victim and also the
body condition of the patient in order to form a claytronic model to operate on. This can
really save a great deal of lives. This can seem like a very farfetched or impossible idea
but in reality this concept is undergoing intensive research an can come into being
anywhere in the next 2 to 3 decades.

Fig 1.3:Catoms or Claytronic atoms.

(Source: http://www.google.co.in/images?
um=1&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=656&tbs=isch:1&aq=f&aqi=&oq=&gs_rfai=&safe=on&q=Black%20box)

**Reference: http://www.cmu.edu/corporate/news/2007/features/claytronics.shtml
CURRENT RESEARCH:
Current research is exploring the potential of modular reconfigurable
robotics and the complex software necessary to control the shape changing robots.
Locally Distributed Predicates or LDP is a distributed, high-level language for
programming modular reconfigurable robot systems (MRRs). There are many
challenges associated with programming and controlling a large number of discrete
modular systems due to the degrees of freedom that correspond with each module. For
example, reconfiguring from one formation to one similar may require a complex path of
movements controlled by an intricate string of commands even though the two shapes
differ slightly.

Fig 1.3: Centimeter-scale prototypes of Catom

In 2005, research efforts to develop a hardware concept were successful on the scale of
millimeters, creating cylindrical prototypes 44 millimeters in diameter which interact with
each other via electromagnetic attraction. Their experiments helped researchers verify
the relationship between mass and potential force between objects as a 10-fold
reduction in size [which] should translate to a 100-fold increase in force relative to
mass. Recent advancements in this prototype concept are in the form of one millimeter
diameter cylindrical robots fabricated on a thin film by photolithography that would
cooperate with each other using complex software that would control electromagnetic
attraction and repulsion between modules.
Today, extensive research and experiments with claytronics are being conducted at
Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by a team of researchers which
consists of Professors Todd C. Mowry, Seth Goldstein, Ph. D. candidates, graduate and
undergraduate students, and researchers from Intel Labs Pittsburgh.

FUTURE WORK REQUIRED AND APPLICATION:

As the capabilities of computing continue to develop and robotic modules shrink,
claytronics will become useful in many applications. The featured application of
claytronics is a new mode of communication. Claytronics will offer a more realistic
sense to communication over long distance called pario. Similar to how audio and video
provide aural and visual stimulation, pario provides an aural, visual and physical
sensation. A user will be able to hear, see and touch the one communicating with them
in a realistic manner. Pario could be used effectively in many professional disciplines
from engineering design, education and healthcare to entertainment and leisure
activities such as video games.
The advancements in nanotechnology and computing necessary for claytonics to
become a reality are feasible, but the challenges to overcome are daunting and will
require great innovation. In an interview, December 2008, Jason Campbell, a lead
researcher from Intel Labs Pittsburgh said, "my estimates of how long it is going to take
have gone from 50 years down to just a couple more years. That has changed over the
four years Ive been working on the project".

References**

Aksak, B., Cassell, A., Li, J., Meyyappan, M., & Callen, P. (2007). Friction of
Partially Embedded Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanofibers Inside Elastomers. Applied
Physics Letters , 91.

Ashley-Rollman, M. P., De Rosa, M., Srinivasa, S. S., Pillai, P., Goldstein, S. C.,
& Campbell, J. D. (2007a). Declarative Programming for Modular Robots. In
Workshop on Self-Reconfigurable Robots/Systems and Applications at IROS '07.

Ashley-Rollman, M. P., Goldstein, S. C., Lee, P., Mowry, T. C., & Pillai, P. (2007b)
Meld: A Declarative Approach to Programming Ensembles. In Proceedings of the
IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems IROS '07.

Byrne, Seamus. (2008, December 22). Morphing Programmable Gadgets Could

Soon Be a Reality. Retrieved February 20, 2010
from http://www.news.com.au/morphing-gadgets-could-soon-be-a-reality/story-01111118387380

De Rosa, M., Goldstein, S. C., Lee, P., Campbell, J. D. & Pillai, P. (2008)
Programming Modular Robots with Locally Distributed Predicates. In Proceedings of
the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation ICRA '08.

De Rosa, M., Goldstein, S. C., Lee, P., Pillai, P., & Campbell, J. (2009). A Tale of
Two Planners: Modular Robotic Planning with LDP. 2009 IEEE/RSJ International
Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IROS 2009, October 11, 2009 October 15.

De Rosa, M., Goldstein, S. C., Lee, P., Campbell, J. D., Pillai, P. & Mowry, T. C.
(2007) Distributed Watchpoints: Debugging Large Multi-Robot Systems. In
Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation
ICRA '07.

Funiak, S., Pillai, P., Ashley-Rollman, M. P., Campbell, J. D., & Goldstein, S. C.
(2008). Distributed Localization of Modular Robot Ensembles. In Proceedings of
Robotics: Science and Systems.

Goldstein, Seth C. (2010a, January). Software Research. Retrieved March 2,

2010 from http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~claytronics/software/index.html

Goldstein, Seth C. (2010b, January). The Claytronics Team. Retrieved February

20, 2010 from http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~claytronics/people/index.html

Goldstein, S. C., Campbell, J. D., & Mowry, T. C. (2005). Programmable

Matter. Computer, 38(6), 99-101.

Goldstein, S. C., Mowry, T. C., Campbell, J. D., Ashley-Rollman, M., De Rosa, M.,
Funiak, S. et al. (2009). Beyond Audio and Video: Using Claytronics to Enable
Pario. AI Magazine, 30(2), 29-45.

Karagozler, M. E., Goldstein, S. C., & Reid, J. R. (2009). Stress-Driven MEMS

Assembly + Electrostatic Forces = 1 mm Diameter Robot. 2009 IEEE/RSJ
International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2009).

Karagozler, M., Kirby, B., Goldstein, S. C., Lee, W., & Marinelli, E. (2006).
Ultralight Modular Robotic Building Blocks for the Rapid Development of Planetary
Outposts. Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts Academic Linkage (RASCAL).

Kirby, B., Goldstein, S. C., Mowry, T., Aksak, B., & Hoburg, J. (2007). A Modular
robotic System Using Magnetic Force Effectors. Proceedings of the IEEE
International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS '07).

Kirby, B., Goldstein, S. C., Mowry, T., Aksak, B., & Hoburg, J. (2005). Catoms:
Moving Robots Without Moving Parts. AAAI (Robot Exhibition), 1730-1731.

Rister, B. D., Campbell, J. D., Pillai, P., & Mowry, T. C. (2007). Integrated
Debugging of Large Modular Robot Ensembles. In Proceedings of the IEEE
International Conference on Robotics and Automation ICRA '07.

Websites:
1)http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~seth/sensysdemoabstract.pdf
2)http://www.cmu.edu/corporate/news/2007/features/claytronics.shtml
3)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claytronics
4)http://www.thecarblackbox.com/sbx_video.html
5)http://www.servinghistory.com/topics/claytronics::sub::Future_Applications
6)http://www.nanotechnology.org.in/next-world-intel-claytronics-programmable-matter
7)http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~claytronics/hardware/stochastic.html

8)http://www.google.co.in/images?
um=1&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=656&tbs=isch:1&aq=f&aqi=&oq=&gs_rfai=&safe=on&q=Bl
ack%20box
9)http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/06/black-box-for-the-car/
10)http://www.unece.org/trans/roadsafe/img/stkiinj.gif

**Reference copied as a whole from Wikipedia to avoid facing plagiarism.