Abstract
This paper introduces self-reproducing structures composed of multiple types of parts. Self reproduction is a kind of self assembly in which the desired structure is obtained automatically from simple parts. Our aim is not to achieve self reproduction by controlling the parts directly, but by controlling their environment, namely passive self-reproduction. It seems to us that one of the most successful examples of self-reproduction is the method used by deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), that is, semiconservative replication. Hence, we developed self reproducing structures by imitating the semiconservative replication of DNA. The proposed method can handle not only one or two part types, but also more than two part types to create complex structures. We explain the design of the parts used for creating a self-reproducing structure composed of multiple part types. We also show the experimental results of the evaluation of the effectiveness of the design of the parts and of the specific self-reproducing structures. The experimental results show that the proposed method can create self-reproducing structures by controlling only the temperature and disturbance of the environment.
