Alt-BEAM Archive
Message #09193
To: beam@sgiblab.sgi.com
From: Ben Hitchcock beh01@uow.edu.au
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2000 10:03:01 -0800
Subject: Re: BEAM LEGO was microcore experimentation kit
> Why not use cable with plugs and sockets - that is, make a whole heap of
> little veroboard units, each with two cables coming out of it.
>
> One cable has a plug on it, the other cable has a socket. You could then
> make whatever shape you liked - 2 neuron ring, 5 neuron ring, whatever. I
> think solid units would be a bit too limited in the topology for true
> experimentation.
>
> You could then have other optional units that could act as summing
points -
> so it would be a unit with one plug (output) and two sockets (input).
> People could then design their own units based on this idea so that you
> could do that tetrahedron idea someone was talking about, all based around
> the same bus.
>
> A 9-pin serial connector seems to be pretty common, and very cheap. If
you
> don't want to shell out the money for heaps of backshells then you could
> make your own - just drown the wire side in epoxy.
>
> In fact, you only need one side to be flexible - you could solder one
> connector directly to the veroboard, and only have ONE cable coming out of
> it.
>
> On the veroboard could be terminals for power, input, output, and a pot to
> adjust the delay.
>
> You might also want put more than one neuron in each unit - no problem.
> Since we are using hex inverters anyway, we have six inverters doing
nothing
> - so it's pretty easy to add a cap and a pot to it.
>
> Now another unit could be a power unit - it just plugs right into the
chain,
> and the pulse wires go straight 'through' it without this unit being part
of
> the chain.
>
> I think the most important thing here is standards. If we make all our
> units to conform to the same standard then we could have a meet somewhere
> and everyone's units could plug into everyone else's units, to make a
> monster nervous net!
>
> Anyway, enough dreaming,
>
> Ben
>
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