Passive Self-Replication of Millimeter-Scale Parts

Self replication is a kind of self-assembly in which a desired structure is obtained automatically from simple parts. We propose self-replication not by controlling the parts directly, but by controlling their environment, namely passive self-replication, which makes self-replicating structures by imitating the semi-conservative replication of DNA. The proposed self-replication strategy is available for multiple types of parts by introducing selective surface structures on parts and two different bonding forces.