An Experimental Study of Interaction of Shape and Pattern on Two-Dimensional Self-Assembly System

Abstract

Self-assembly is a process in which components autonomously organize into a structure without external direction. In order to develop an artificial self-assembly system, an under-standing of the interaction of shape and pattern is important. In this research, we first designed a self-assembly system with components which has magnetic and concave-convex patterns. Second, we conducted some experiments about the interaction of shape and pattern on that system, applying three different shapes or patterns of component and environment. The results show that there is a relatively strong correlation between assembly-time and interaction degree we defined. Furthermore, the results suggest that the more similar to circle shapes and patterns of compo-nent and environment are, the faster assembly-time becomes.