musings of wrath

Base:

Polymer (or something) board, about 2 cm thick, preferably dark or black opaque. 2 meters wide by 1.125 meters tall (16:9 aspect ratio). Preferably non-conductive – but something conductive could prove useful for additional applications.

One side (front) is covered with several rows of OED strips made by the “forest” process developed by UTDallas.

On the opposite side is several rows strips, but specially made by a process based on the UTDallas process. (See below).

Each edge of the “screen” is covered by an end-cap that contains thousands of nano-machines. These manage connections between the screen, and whatever functionality can be provided by special modules attached to the end-cap. That means there is about 6.25 meters of “real estate” that can be used for various modular functions. The modules would either access the back panel, front panel, or both.

When a module is attached to the end cap, it will take some time for the nano-machines to “read” the programming information “broadcast” by the module, but once they do so, they will begin connecting the many thousands (millions?) of nanotubes to their appropriate locations (front and/or back).

Back-side process:

The creation of the backside strips would need modifications to the UTDallas method. The drum would need an array (like a print-head) of nano-machines that will place “end points”, “y-junctions” and many other necessary modifications to the nanotubes as they come out. These modifications will be sent via software to the “printer”, so as to make:

• An array of memory (potentially in the terabytes per meter?)
• An array of processors (SMP, all the same kind “pattern”, with a few of the nano-tubes dedicated to inter-processor communication)
• Multiple different processors
• One large processor (multiple k-bit in complexity?) that can be software-driven to emulate several virtual machines)
• An array of solar collectors for powering the device

The first four can be combined to create a consumer electronics device with the ability to have modules attached for gaming, computing, large scientific calculations, business functions, tele-conferencing, broadband internet access, wireless networking, home management systems, etc.

Modules:

The modules could use current consumer technology attached to the endcaps of the “screen”. What this means is, you could plug in, for example, a “Television” module, that would include a basic cable receiver, HDTV receiver, digital and/or RCA inputs, power input (for the receivers), and a remote control module. The consumer would remove a dummy plate from the appropriate place on the outer frame of the “screen” that covers the endcaps. The module would replace the gap in the outer frame, and after a few minutes of “synching”, the television functionality would be available. The remote control module would be attached to the stub remote control that the device would come with, adding the functionality to control the television.

The synching process would probably use something similar to Bluetooth to communicate with the nano-engines to explain what connections it needs, and where. The module would be programmed to only go in one, maybe two, places and work. Therefore, the nano-engines would need to be on a peer-to-peer network to communicate with a base processing module to figure out if the device is in the right place or not. After the end-points of the module is found by the nano-engines, and it’s confirmed that it’s located properly, the nano-engines get to work establishing the connections. It may even be possible to make this visible to the end user – that is, the module will noticeably shift further “into” the endcap as the nano-engines pull the endcap open, and pull the module closer, literally by the nanotubes. Once it’s attached, forcibly pulling the module out will be VERY difficult with the number of nanotubes attached to each other. There should be, however, a process for removal of a module for later “upgrades”.

Other module examples:

• Parallel processing manager (cluster) for scientific processing and extremely detailed 3D renderings
• Multiple processor (128, 256, 512)-bit gaming system(s)
• DVD Player
• UMD disc player
• VGA converter to use the screen as a standard PC monitor
• Broadband internet access with built-in kiosk-type operating system (Knoppix?)
• Video-phone (built-in camera and microphone or Bluetooth headset) that can be used over POTS, ISDN, or broadband internet access.
• Wireless household manager – would manage Bluetooth networks, automated home modules and the like from the screen, with on-screen help.
• One complete system using the entire backplane to emulate all the functionality, or to create, effectively, a supercomputer.
• Linking module to link multiple screens together (special case, this would attach to two screens)
• Linking module to link two back-planes together (again, special case, this would attach the two backplanes together for more memory/processing power)
• Linking module to link front and back

All the modules should integrate with each other, so they should either communicate with the same protocols (IPv6?) and/or run the same basic operating system.

The modules might never even hit the consumer market – one could build the base platform in mass production, and then ship them to other manufacturing plants to add on the different modules, and in turn ship them to stores or consumers directly.

Consumers could order customized systems with all the functions they want/need.

The screens would be cheap to make, especially if the backend is made as a solar-collector or simply blank, meaning all sorts of companies could buy the screens, cheaply, in bulk, and make their own devices out of them.

The screen size, by the way, is not set in stone. Several different-sized screens could be made, and the process could be used to make specific devices, as well, such as a 6-inch screen that has a hard drive attached to it – a hand-held movie screen that can store 20 or more DVD quality full length movies. The only PC-board in the device would be the hard-drive’s management board, and probably a small piece to attach the drive to the nanotube-based processor (on the back-side of the screen).

Research:

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000093C3-E0C8-12FC-A0C883414B7F0102
http://www.utdallas.edu/news/archive/2005/carbon-nanotube-sheets.html
http://www.azonano.com/news.asp?newsID=677
http://www.plausiblefutures.com/cparticle79052-6987a.html
http://www.sc.doe.gov/bes/reports/files/SEU_rpt.pdf
http://www.ansatus.com/