Related papers: Quantifying the pathways to life using assembly sp…
How do we estimate the probability of an abundant objects' formation, with minimal context or assumption about is origin? To explore this we have previously introduced the concept of pathway assembly (as pathway complexity), in a graph…
Assembly theory (AT) quantifies selection using the assembly equation and identifies complex objects that occur in abundance based on two measurements, assembly index and copy number, where the assembly index is the minimum number of…
One thing that discriminates living things from inanimate matter is their ability to generate similarly complex or non-random architectures in a large abundance. From DNA sequences to folded protein structures, living cells, microbial…
We describe some of the important physical characteristics of the `pathways', i.e. dynamical processes, by which molecular, nanoscale and micron-scale self-assembly occurs. We highlight the fact that there exist features of self-assembly…
The design space for a self-assembled multicomponent objects ranges from a solution in which every building block is unique to one with the minimum number of distinct building blocks that unambiguously define the target structure. Using a…
The assembly index of assembly theory quantifies the minimal number of composition steps required to construct an object from elementary components. The study proves that the decision version of the assembly index problem is NP-complete,…
Assembly Theory (AT) was developed to help distinguish living from non-living systems. The theory is simple as it posits that the amount of selection or Assembly is a function of the number of complex objects where their complexity can be…
In this paper, we compute a conservative approximation of the path-connected components of the free space of a rigid object in a 2D workspace in order to solve two closely related problems: to determine whether there exists a collision-free…
Path integrals represent a powerful route to quantization: they calculate probabilities by summing over classical configurations of variables such as fields, assigning each configuration a phase equal to the action of that configuration.…
Understanding the pathways by which viral capsid proteins assemble around their genomes could identify key intermediates as potential drug targets. In this work we use computer simulations to characterize assembly over a wide range of…
Quantifying the evolution and complexity of materials is of importance in many areas of science and engineering, where a central open challenge is developing experimental complexity measurements to distinguish random structures from evolved…
We present a quantitative measure of physical complexity, based on the amount of information required to build a given physical structure through self-assembly. Our procedure can be adapted to any given geometry, and thus to any given type…
Path planning for 3D solid objects is a challenging problem, requiring a search in a six-dimensional configuration space, which is, nevertheless, essential in many robotic applications such as bin-picking and assembly. The commonly used…
Assembly planning is the core of automating product assembly, maintenance, and recycling for modern industrial manufacturing. Despite its importance and long history of research, planning for mechanical assemblies when given the final…
This paper investigates how learning can be used to ease the design of high-quality paths for the assembly of deformable objects. Object dynamics plays an important role when manipulating deformable objects; thus, detailed models are often…
Molecular assembly offers a promising path to detect life beyond Earth, while minimizing assumptions based on terrestrial life. As mass spectrometers will be central to upcoming Solar System missions, predicting molecular assembly from…
In micro- and nano-scale systems, particles can be moved by using an external force like gravity or a magnetic field. In the presence of adhesive particles that can attach to each other, the challenge is to decide whether a shape is…
The field of complex self-assembly is moving toward the design of multi-particle structures consisting of thousands of distinct building blocks. To exploit the potential benefits of structures with such `addressable complexity,' we need to…
Assembly theory predicts that a distinguishing signature of life is its ability to produce complex molecules in abundance, opening new possibilities for life detection. Experimental validation of this approach has so far relied on abiotic…
The inverse problem of designing component interactions to target emergent structure is fundamental to numerous applications in biotechnology, materials science, and statistical physics. Equally important is the inverse problem of designing…