MEMW Digital World

Thanks to [zen-tom] for the proper nomenclature. See the first two links for some good info.

Make a little model of the earth and let a couple thousand highly sophisticated micro electro mechanical systems wander through it. Let the electrical signals on this world feedback with a virtual reality environment that a couple thousand lucky humans and animals would venture though.

The little robots can be called MEMWs: Micro Electrial Mechanical Waldos.

As the system became updated, you could imagine some interesting possibilities.

It couls be used to allow vastly complex interactions in MEMS that might not be achieved otherwise.

[edit: 9/5/06] Ok, to try to put some meaningful application behind this... It is hard to replicate evolutionary mechanisms. Many attempts at doing so, with a computer program for instance, hit a limit of complexity and evolution ceases. With this world, you could allow humans to modify the machines they are manipulating. The human element would ensure continual evolution. Based on the surroundings, the humans would take advantage of the modularity of the machines and evolve suitable machines. Maybe these environmental conditions would be a micro(nano?)machining facility, itself. Then, the humans would evolve an optimal assembly line, and they would then be building micromachines using micromachines that they control in the VR. Kinda Matrixish, but not really since the matrix side is an actual environment and not something virtual.