Researchers have created the Kirigami mechanical computer ─ it works without electricity

Researchers at the University of North Carolina have developed a computer that uses kirigami art, which is a combination of origami and cutting, to create and manipulate 3D shapes. This is a fully mechanical computer that does not require electricity to operate. The Kirigami computer consists of 64 interconnected cubes, each measuring just 1 cm in width and height. The cubes are arranged in a way that their geometry represents data. Manipulating (or editing) data is done by pushing the cubes up or down, which changes the geometry of the interconnected cubes. The 64-cube computer can be used standalone or connected to additional 64-cube Kirigami computers to increase complexity and data storage capacity. Each cube in the computer is connected to another with thin strips of elastic tape. When users move to edit data, they have to pull on the edges of the cube structure, stretching the elastic tape and causing them to change the position of each cube (up or down). Releasing the structure locks the cubes in place - almost like saving a Word document or locking a file in "read-only" status. According to Professor Cze Yin, the goal of the Kirigami computer is to develop a stable mechanical data storage system. The primary direction of the computer is binary computational functions. However, there is potential for more complex computations in the future, with the possibility of evolving the Kirigami computer into a five-state computer, capable of representing states 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 (not just binary states). The complexity of the Kirigami computer is almost infinite. Cze Yin talks about the idea of using such computers to perform various unrelated functions, such as data encryption and tactile communication. Cze Yin states that a simple Kirigami metastructure with just nine functional units has over 362,000 possible configurations. By utilizing all 64 cubes of the computer, the number of possible configurations can increase exponentially. Researchers claim that the Kirigami computer is immune to vulnerabilities that electronic computers face, such as electromagnetic pulses and remote hacking. It also does not consume electricity, at least in its current form. However, how this will work when integrated into a device remains to be seen. If the Kirigami computer completes the research phase, it could be used to replace modern electronic computers for specific tasks, such as data storage as a backup machine for governments, banks, and companies to combat computer viruses, theft, and other security system vulnerabilities. Source: tomshardware