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Skylar Tibbits: Can we make things that make themselves?

Video vocabulary

sequence

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US / 'si:kwəns /

UK / ˈsikwəns, -ˌkwɛns /

A2
  • noun
  • Part of a movie showing one part of the story
  • verb
  • To arrange things in an order they should happen

right

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US / raɪt /

UK / raɪt /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • Correct or true
  • The south side of you looking at the rising sun
  • adverb
  • Exactly in a place or time
  • Being appropriate for a particular event
  • In a straight or direct manner
  • noun
  • Something you are legally or morally allowed to do
  • Ideal of what is just and good
  • Political view based on conservatism
  • verb
  • To fix something previously wrong or unjust
  • To make upright, as a boat that has turned over

case

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US / keɪs /

UK / kes /

A1
  • noun
  • Container used to carry things, e.g. clothes
  • Set of facts about a crime
  • Set of facts about an event
  • Example or instance of something
  • verb
  • To find out about a place, as in planning to steal

like

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US / laɪk /

UK / laɪk /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • Being equal in status or kind to something else
  • Similar; the same
  • adverb
  • For example
  • preposition
  • Used as a filler; used to ad emphasis
  • In a way similar to the way something is done
  • Such as; for example
  • verb
  • To want to
  • To find something pleasing; to prefer something

block

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US / blɒk /

UK / blɑk /

A2
  • noun
  • Solid piece of material used for building
  • A piece of wood, chocolate etc.
  • Hard piece of wood, stone etc. with straight edges
  • Building made up of offices or apartments
  • Area of a city divided by four streets
  • verb
  • To stop from going forward or making progress

that

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US / ðæt /

UK / ðæt, ðət /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • The person or thing being talked about
  • Used to identify something both the speakers know
  • adverb
  • Used to reinforce adjectives and adverbs
  • To such a degree
  • conjunction
  • Used to connect a noun clause
  • Used to introduce an adverbial clause
  • Used to introduce a noun clause
  • determiner
  • Used as a noun to refer to something
  • pronoun
  • Referring an object far away
  • Used to refer to the relative pronoun ‘which’

interesting

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US / ˈɪntrəstɪŋ /

UK / ˈɪntrɪstɪŋ, -tərɪstɪŋ, -təˌrɛstɪŋ /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • Taking your attention; making you want to know
  • verb
  • To make someone want to know about something
  • To persuade to do, become involved with something

hardly

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US / ˈhɑ:dli /

UK / ˈhɑ:rdli /

A2
  • adverb
  • Clearly or undoubtedly not; very little
  • Almost not; scarcely

first

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US / fɜ:st /

UK / fɚst /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • 1st; Coming before all others in time or place
  • noun
  • Something that has not happened before
  • Position of the winner of a competition

exciting

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US / ɪkˈsaɪtɪŋ /

UK / ɪkˈsaɪtɪŋ /

A2
  • adjecitve
  • Creating interest, happiness or pleasurable fear
  • verb
  • To cause a reaction; make active
  • To make someone feel happy, interested or eager

what

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US / wɒt /

UK / hwɑt, hwʌt, wɔt, wʌt,hwət, wət /

A1
  • pronoun
  • Thing or things that; the same kind as
  • Used to emphasize something you are about to say
  • adjecitve
  • Used to refer to a particular amount, or number
  • Used to place emphasis on a particular quality
  • adverb
  • To a certain degree
  • determiner
  • Question words used for asking for information
  • exclamation
  • Used to express excitement, shock, or surprise
  • Used to ask people to repeat something they said

get

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US / ɡet /

UK / ɡɛt /

A1
  • verb
  • To become affected by illness or disease
  • To begin to feel or understand an emotion or idea
  • To send or bring someone or something home, etc.
  • To go somewhere to obtain something
  • To (cause to) do a particular thing
  • To obtain, receive or be given something
  • To currently have
  • To prepare for use
  • To understand something being said or read

type

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US / taɪp /

UK / taɪp /

A1
  • noun
  • Printed letters or blocks used for printing them
  • Group of things or people sharing common features
  • verb
  • To identify something belonging to a group
  • To write by touching keys on a keyboard

glass

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US / ɡlɑ:s /

UK / ɡlæs /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • Being made of glass
  • noun
  • Clear hard container used for drinking
  • A lens for eyewear
  • Hard see-through material used for making windows

each

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US / i:tʃ /

UK / itʃ /

A1
  • determiner
  • Every one of two or more things
  • pronoun
  • Per one person or thing

step

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US / step /

UK / stɛp /

A1
  • noun
  • Movement done as part of a particular dance
  • Distance covered by one movement of a leg; stride
  • One part or stage in a process
  • Sound made by the feet while walking; footstep
  • Flat horizontal piece that forms stairs
  • verb
  • To raise and moving the foot to put it down

dna

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US / ˌdiː en ˈeɪ /

UK / ˌdiː en ˈeɪ /

B2
  • noun
  • Chemical in living cells with genetic information

about

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US / ə'baʊt /

UK / əˈbaʊt /

A1
  • adverb
  • To be ready to; going to
  • Nearly; approximately; roughly
  • Near; next to; close to
  • In every direction; in the area of
  • preposition
  • Concerning or of (a topic)

number

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US / ˈnʌmbə(r) /

UK / ˈnʌmbɚ /

A1
  • noun
  • Symbols such as 1, 2, 56, 793
  • Particular song or dance performed during a show
  • Total quantity or amount of things
  • verb
  • To put numbers on things
  • To assign a sequence within a group, series, set
  • To claim to be part of a larger group, series, set

energy

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US / 'enədʒɪ /

UK / ˈɛnədʒi /

A2
  • noun
  • Physical or mental strength

directly

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US / dəˈrektli /

UK / dɪˈrɛktli, daɪ- /

A2
  • adverb
  • In a frank and honest way
  • Right away; immediately

down

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US / daʊn /

UK / daʊn /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • Being sad, sick, or unhappy
  • Not operating, working, or functioning as expected
  • adverb
  • In a sitting or lying position
  • Towards or on the ground, floor, or bottom
  • Written or copied onto a piece of paper or book
  • noun
  • A period of play in American Football
  • The soft, smooth hairs that cover a bird's body
  • preposition
  • Along something's path, course, or direction
  • Going from a higher position to a lower position
  • verb
  • To eat or drink very quickly and without stopping

tell

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US / tel /

UK / tɛl /

A1
  • verb
  • To (strongly) advise a person to do something
  • To be able to guess
  • To say or communicate information to someone
  • To inform, but without speaking; indicate
  • To have a negative effect on someone
  • To order someone to do something; command
  • To recognize something based on certain signs
  • To report something to an authority
  • To explain something or teach someone something

longevity

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US / lɒn'dʒevətɪ /

UK / lɑnˈdʒɛvɪti, lɔn- /

B2
  • noun
  • Amount of time someone or something lives or lasts

place

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US / pleɪs /

UK / ples /

A1
  • noun
  • Particular location, area or region
  • verb
  • To put someone in a particular type of situation
  • To put something in a certain location or position

mean

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US / mi:n /

UK / min /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • Being good at
  • Nasty; unkind
  • Not liking to spend money; cheap; stingy
  • noun
  • Average of a set of numbers
  • verb
  • To express a particular idea or thought
  • To intend to do something in particular
  • To have a particular meaning or value

current

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US / 'kʌrənt /

UK / ˈkɚrənt, ˈkʌr- /

A2
  • adjecitve
  • Happening or being in the present time
  • noun
  • Electricity flowing through wires
  • Movement of water in a river, or air in the sky

roughly

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US / ˈrʌfli /

UK / ˈrʌflɪ /

B1
  • adverb
  • Approximately; (of numbers) about; around
  • In a manner that is violent or not careful
  • In an inexact, imprecise or violent way
  • In a basic, simple manner

example

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US / ɪgˈzɑ:mpl /

UK / ɪɡˈzæmpəl /

A1
  • noun
  • Thing, person which represents a category

then

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US / ðen /

UK / ðɛn /

A1
  • adverb
  • A time that is not now
  • Following another thing in time or arrangement
  • Following on reasonably from what was just stated
  • At that time, not now

element

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US / 'elɪmənt /

UK / ˈɛləmənt /

A2
  • noun
  • Essential or particular part of something

bias

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US / 'baɪəs /

UK / ˈbaɪəs /

B1
  • noun
  • Preference to believe things even if incorrect
  • verb
  • To unfairly favor one view over another

the

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US / ðə /

UK / ðə /

A1
  • article
  • Used to refer to something already mentioned
  • Used to show there is only one of something
  • determiner
  • Used to describe all of a family

decode

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US / ˌdi:ˈkəʊd /

UK / ˌdi:ˈkoʊd /

B2
  • verb
  • To translate from code into the plain text

instruction

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US / ɪn'strʌkʃn /

UK / ɪnˈstrʌkʃən /

A2
  • noun
  • A command for someone formally to do something
  • Act of teaching or explaining to others
  • Information about how to do or use something

nanosecond

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US / ˈnænəʊsekənd /

UK / ˈnænəˌsɛkənd /

C2
  • noun
  • One billionth of a second

programmable

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US / ˈprəʊgræməbl /

UK / ˈproʊɡræməbl /

B1
  • adjecitve
  • Able to be written in computer code

physical

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US / ˈfɪzɪkl /

UK / ˈfɪzɪkəl /

A2
  • adjecitve
  • Concerning the body of a person
  • Concerning things that can be seen or touched
  • noun
  • Health check at the doctors' or hospital

natural

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US / ˈnætʃərəl /

UK / ˈnætʃərəl, ˈnætʃrəl /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • Being as one would expect; being usual or normal
  • Not made by humans; without human intervention

cube

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US / kju:b /

UK / kjub /

B2
  • noun
  • Solid object that has six square sides
  • verb
  • To cut food into the shape of small cubes
  • To multiply a number by itself three times

bridge

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US / brɪdʒ /

UK / brɪdʒ /

A2
  • noun
  • Structure built over river, road so you can cross
  • verb
  • To make a link between; bring together

applause

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US / ə'plɔ:z /

UK / əˈplɔz /

B1
  • noun
  • The sound made by clapping a performance or speech

three

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US / θri: /

UK / θri /

A1
  • number
  • Number 3

than

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US / ðən /

UK / ðən /

A1
  • conjunction
  • Used to compare two things that are not equal

able

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US / 'eɪbl /

UK / ˈebəl /

A2
  • adjecitve
  • Skilled; good at something
  • Having the ability to do something

half

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US / hɑ:f /

UK / hæf, hɑf /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • Not complete
  • adverb
  • Partly; somewhat
  • noun
  • One of two equal periods of game time in a sport
  • The part you get when one is divided into two;

one

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US / wʌn /

UK / wʌn /

A1
  • pronoun
  • You; we; people in general; someone
  • The thing or person previously referred to
  • adjecitve
  • Used to refer to people generally
  • Being a strong example of (something mentioned)
  • number
  • Number 1

turn

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US / tɜ:n /

UK / tɚn /

A1
  • noun
  • Place where changing of direction happens
  • Your time or chance to perform a duty
  • Your chance to play or do in say a game
  • Unexpected change, as in the weather
  • verb
  • To become (a particular age)
  • To become a different quality, color, etc.
  • To change the direction of something, e.g. a car
  • To move in an opposite direction or position
  • To shape metal with a spinning tool

you

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US / jʊ /

UK / ju /

A1
  • pronoun
  • Person someone is speaking or writing to
  • Person or people in general

state

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US / steɪt /

UK / stet /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • Concerning region within a country
  • noun
  • Region within a country, with its own government
  • Situation or condition something is in
  • verb
  • To say; declare as fact

other

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US / 'ʌðə(r) /

UK / ˈʌðər /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • A thing different from that mentioned
  • determiner
  • (Something) else; not the first (one)
  • pronoun
  • Being the one and only thing of that category

five

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US / faɪv /

UK / faɪv /

A1
  • number
  • 5

this

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US / ðɪs /

UK / ðɪs /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • Used to indicate something already been discussed
  • Used to indicate something happening around now
  • adverb
  • An indication by a physical motion or gesture
  • A specific amount of
  • determiner
  • Person, thing, or idea near you
  • pronoun
  • Person, thing that has already been discussed

scalable

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US / 'skeɪləbl /

UK / 'skeɪləbəl /

B2
  • adjecitve
  • Computers that can be increased or magnified
  • Capable of being re-sized

complexity

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US / kəm'pleksətɪ /

UK / kəmˈplɛksɪti /

B1
  • noun
  • State of having many parts and not being simple

redundancy

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US / rɪˈdʌndənsi /

UK / rɪˈdʌndənsi /

B2
  • noun
  • Existence of an already present thing as a backup

colleague

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US / 'kɒli:ɡ /

UK / ˈkɑlˌiɡ /

A2
  • noun
  • Person you work or cooperate with

message

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US / 'mesɪdʒ /

UK / ˈmɛsɪdʒ /

A2
  • noun
  • Main idea or theme in a story, book, or film
  • Piece of information that is told/given to someone
  • verb
  • To communicate using text

man

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US / mæn /

UK / mæn /

A1
  • noun
  • Humans in general, including male and female
  • An adult male human being
  • Male who acts in a masculine way; not like a woman
  • verb
  • To control or operate (a machine); be in charge of
  • To operate a machine (a boat, etc.)

term

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US / tɜ:m /

UK / tɚm /

A1
  • noun
  • Conditions applying to an agreement, contract
  • Length of time something is expected to happen
  • Fixed period of weeks for learning at school
  • The (precise) name given to something
  • verb
  • To call; give a name to

nand

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US / /

UK / /

A1
  • noun
  • A Boolean operator which gives the value zero if and only if all the operands have a value of one, a

year

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US / jə: /

UK / jɪr /

A1
  • noun
  • Unit of time equal to 12 months or 365 or 366 days
  • Used to refer to the age of a person

into

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US / 'ɪntə /

UK / ˈɪntu /

A1
  • preposition
  • Moving or going inside something
  • In the same direction as; in the direction of
  • So as to become; taking the state of

how

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US / haʊ /

UK / haʊ /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • To what degree? in what amount?
  • adverb
  • (Used to explain the way to do something)
  • exclamation
  • For what purpose or reason?
  • (Used to ask someone or something's condition)

make

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US / meɪk /

UK / mek /

A1
  • noun
  • Product made by a particular company; brand
  • verb
  • To arrange or prepare something e.g. dinner
  • To get to (a place) on time
  • To gain the status of (teacher, lawyer, etc.)
  • To create something by putting things together
  • To earn a certain amount of money at a job
  • To cause or force a person to do something
  • To cause something to happen or be formed

efficient

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US / ɪˈfɪʃnt /

UK / ɪˈfɪʃənt /

A2
  • adjecitve
  • Able to produce results without waste

construct

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US / kənˈstrʌkt /

UK / kənˈstrʌkt /

A2
  • noun
  • A thought, theory or hypothesis
  • verb
  • To build or create something
  • To create a sentence, story, argument or theory

power

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US / 'paʊə(r) /

UK / ˈpaʊɚ /

A1
  • noun
  • Legal or official right to perform certain actions
  • Ability to move forcefully and quickly
  • Energy of something (e.g. electricity or fuel)
  • Mathematical way to multiply a number
  • Condition of being in political control
  • Physical force, energy, and strength
  • verb
  • To give energy to something, e.g. by electricity
  • To move something forcefully and quickly

program

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US / 'prəʊɡræm /

UK / ˈproˌɡræm, -ɡrəm /

A1
  • noun
  • Small book of events in a play, concert or movie
  • A plan or schedule of events
  • Series of classes at a college or university
  • A computer application
  • TV show
  • verb
  • To make someone act or think in a certain way
  • To write computer code for a piece of software

something

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US / ˈsʌmθɪŋ /

UK / ˈsʌmθɪŋ /

A1
  • adverb
  • In some degree or measure
  • noun
  • a person or thing of some value or consequence
  • pronoun
  • Thing that is not yet known or named
  • Approximately

reconfigure

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US / ˌri:kənˈfɪgə(r) /

UK / ˌri:kənˈfɪgjər /

A1
  • verb

environment

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US / ɪn'vaɪrənmənt /

UK / ɛnˈvaɪrənmənt, -ˈvaɪən- /

A1
  • noun
  • Natural world in which plants and animals live
  • The entire surrounding conditions of something

form

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US / fɔ:m /

UK / fɔrm /

A1
  • noun
  • Sports team or person's current winning record
  • Document you complete when making an application
  • Visible shape or style; type; kind
  • verb
  • To organize something such as a club or group
  • To develop; to come into a shape or substance
  • To make something into a particular shape

completely

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US / kəmˈpli:tli /

UK / kəmˈpliːtli /

A1
  • adverb
  • In every way or as much as possible

far

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US / fɑ:(r) /

UK / fɑr /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • A long way away
  • Being a long way away
  • adverb
  • To a large degree or extent

from

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US / frəm /

UK / frʌm, frɑm,frəm /

A1
  • preposition
  • Starting at a particular place, time or level

lot

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US / lɒt /

UK / lɑt /

A1
  • noun
  • What happens to a person in life from chance; fate
  • A group of people seen together
  • Item for sale at an auction
  • Small area of land used for a purpose e.g. parking

robot

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US / ˈrəʊbɒt /

UK / ˈroʊbɑ:t /

B1
  • noun
  • Machine able perform more tasks that people can

any

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US / 'enɪ /

UK / ˈɛni /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • One, or some, no matter which
  • pronoun
  • One (thing) of many; some

and

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US / ənd /

UK / ənd, ən,ænd /

A1
  • conjunction
  • Used to refer to two or more things
  • Plus; in addition; on top of that
  • Used to introduce an action that follows another

robotic

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US / rəʊˈbɒtɪk /

UK / roʊˈbɑ:tɪk /

B1
  • adjecitve
  • Concerning mechanical robots

electrical

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US / ɪˈlektrɪkl /

UK / ɪˈlektrɪkl /

A2
  • adjecitve
  • Related or connected to electricity

think

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US / θɪŋk /

UK / θɪŋk /

A1
  • verb
  • To have an idea about something without certainty
  • To have an idea, opinion or belief about something

anything

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US / ˈeniθɪŋ /

UK / ˈɛniˌθɪŋ /

A1
  • pronoun
  • A thing of any kind

leave

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US / li:v /

UK / liv /

A1
  • noun
  • Permission to do something
  • Vacation time; time off work
  • verb
  • To go away from; depart
  • To gift property to someone after you die
  • To allow something to continue happening
  • To let something remain unused or available
  • To let something or someone remain somewhere

two

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US / tu: /

UK / tu /

A1
  • number
  • 2

external

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US / eksˈtə:nl /

UK / ɪkˈstɚnəl /

A2
  • adjecitve
  • Concerning foreign countries
  • Concerning the outside of something; outer
  • Coming from the outside

possibility

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US / ˌpɒsə'bɪlətɪ /

UK / ˌpɑsəˈbɪlɪti /

A2
  • noun
  • Something with a chance of happening or being true

call

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US / kɔ:l /

UK / kɔl /

A1
  • noun
  • A order or request for action
  • The sound an animal makes, often when in danger
  • A correct prediction, e.g. a decision in a game
  • A short visit to a place or person
  • A decision by a referee or umpire in a game
  • verb
  • To make a request or order for action
  • (Animal) to make sounds to warn of danger
  • To announce the date of an election
  • To make a judgment about something
  • To give someone or something a name
  • To guess in advance the result or outcome
  • To visit a place or person for a short time
  • To phone someone
  • To speak, announce or shout in a loud voice

base

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US / beɪs /

UK / bes /

A2
  • noun
  • Place military personnel live, train, and operate
  • Bottom part of an object that touches a surface
  • Unit of counting, e.g. 10 for counting
  • Most important idea or ingredient to add others
  • Origin or start from which something came
  • Main place where an organization or a person works
  • verb
  • To use as the starting point or origin for
  • To have as the main location for (company, etc.)

complex

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US / 'kɒmpleks /

UK / kəmˈplɛks, ˈkɑmˌplɛks /

A2
  • adjecitve
  • Not being simple; having many parts or aspects
  • noun
  • Group of buildings all used for the same purpose
  • Psychological issue regarding self-image

replication

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US / ˌreplɪ'keɪʃn /

UK / ˌrɛplɪˈkeʃən /

B2
  • noun
  • Act of making more exact copies of itself
  • Act of repeating a previous action

plug

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US / plʌg /

UK / plʌɡ /

B1
  • noun
  • Wood, rubber or metal used to block a hole
  • Thing on a wire to connect to electricity supply
  • A promotion of a product
  • verb
  • To use an object to block a hole
  • To promote or advertise a product

tetrahedron

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US / ˌtetrəˈhi:drən /

UK / ˌtɛtrəˈhidrən /

A1
  • noun
  • Any polyhedron having four plane faces

along

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US / əˈlɒŋ /

UK / əˈlɔ:ŋ /

A1
  • adverb
  • As a companion; taken with someone
  • preposition
  • At a point on a line

local

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US / ˈləʊkl /

UK / ˈloʊkl /

A2
  • adjecitve
  • Relating to a particular area, city, or town
  • noun
  • Bus or train, that stops at most stations
  • People who live in the area being discussed
  • The pub you most frequently go to

most

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US / məʊst /

UK / most /

A1
  • adverb
  • Very; extremely
  • Greatest possible degree
  • pronoun
  • Nearly all of something

translate

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US / trænsˈleɪt /

UK / trænsˈlet /

A2
  • verb
  • To change something into a different state
  • To be equivalent to; equate to
  • To change a text, speech into a different language
  • To change words from one language into another

utilize

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US / ˈju:təlaɪz /

UK / ˈjutlˌaɪz /

B1
  • verb
  • To use something for a particular purpose

will

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US / wɪl /

UK / wɪl /

A1
  • noun
  • Desire or choice of someone
  • Document saying who gets your money when you die
  • Strong desire to do something; determination
  • Desire to do something; strong wish to do
  • other
  • Used with verbs to express the future
  • verb
  • To leave property to someone after your death
  • To use mental effort to make something happen
  • Am (is, are) likely to do
  • To influence someone to do something
  • To make something happen by strongly wanting it

should

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US / ʃʊd /

UK / ʃʊd /

A1
  • other
  • Used to indicate what is proper or reasonable

new

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US / nju: /

UK / nu, nju /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • Not old, recently born, built or made
  • Being or doing something for the first time
  • Not felt, seen or known previously
  • Having been recently bought or obtained

here

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US / hɪə(r) /

UK / hɪr /

A1
  • adverb
  • In this place; at this location, position or time

successfully

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US / sək'sesfəlɪ /

UK / səkˈsɛsfəlɪ /

A2
  • adverb
  • In a manner that achieves a goal

compute

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US / kəm'pju:t /

UK / kəmˈpjut /

A1
  • verb
  • To find out by calculating or estimating

imagine

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US / ɪ'mædʒɪn /

UK / ɪˈmædʒɪn /

A1
  • verb
  • To think creatively about; form mental picture of

actually

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US / ˈæktʃuəli /

UK / ˈæktʃuəli /

A1
  • adverb
  • Used to add new (often different) information

programming

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US / ˈprəʊgræmɪŋ /

UK / ˈproʊgræmɪŋ /

A1
  • noun
  • Writing computer code for a piece of software
  • TV or radio shows broadcast by a station
  • verb
  • To make someone act or think in a certain way
  • To write computer code for a piece of software

fold

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US / fəʊld /

UK / fold /

B1
  • noun
  • Pen where sheep are kept
  • Group of people who have a common belief
  • verb
  • To bend one part of something against another
  • (Of business) to fail or close down
  • To hold something together such as your two arms

input

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US / ˈɪnpʊt /

UK / ˈɪnˌpʊt /

A2
  • noun
  • Advice or ideas that someone provides
  • verb
  • To put in information, advice or opinions

four

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US / fɔ:(r) /

UK / fɔr, for /

A1
  • number
  • 4

use

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US / ju:s /

UK / ju:s /

A1
  • noun
  • Ability to employ something
  • Need to enable it to work
  • Permission to do something with something
  • Act of spending money
  • Operation of a machine for its function
  • verb
  • To have; to eat, drink, consume etc.
  • To need to operate or work
  • To operate a machine, e.g. a computer
  • To treat a person badly
  • To do something with, for a task or purpose

million

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US / ˈmɪljən /

UK / ˈmɪljən /

A1
  • number
  • 1,000,000

try

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US / traɪ /

UK / traɪ /

A1
  • noun
  • Act of putting the ball over the rugby goal line
  • verb
  • To make an effort, to attempt to do something
  • To examine someone or something in a court of law
  • To test to see if it is good or you like it
  • To make a person go through hardship; test
  • To examine something to see if it works

digital

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US / ˈdɪdʒɪtl /

UK / ˈdɪdʒɪtl /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • Using electronic signals or computers

side

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US / saɪd /

UK / saɪd /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • In addition to the central or most important thing
  • Next to, or very close to, the right or left of
  • noun
  • Position or opinion that is opposite to another
  • Right or left part of a person's body
  • Feature of someone's personality
  • Straight edge of an object
  • One of two or more groups fighting each other
  • verb
  • To decide to agree with one point, not the other

skyscraper

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US / 'skaɪskreɪpə(r) /

UK / ˈskaɪˌskrepɚ /

B2
  • noun
  • Very tall building with many stories

contain

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US / kənˈteɪn /

UK / kənˈten /

A2
  • verb
  • To keep something from spreading
  • To hold something inside something else

fairly

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US / 'feəlɪ /

UK / ˈfɛrli /

A2
  • adverb
  • Quite; pretty; between very and a little
  • In a manner that is right and acceptable

previous

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US / ˈpri:viəs /

UK / ˈpriviəs /

A2
  • adjecitve
  • Existing or happening before the present time

passive

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US / ˈpæsɪv /

UK / ˈpæsɪv /

B1
  • adjecitve
  • Allowing things to happen with quiet acceptance
  • With sentence's subject being what verb acts on

ever

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US / 'evə(r) /

UK / ˈɛvɚ /

A1
  • adverb
  • At any time; at all times in the future

thousand

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US / ˈθaʊznd /

UK / ˈθaʊzənd /

A1
  • number
  • Number 1,000

probably

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US / ˈprɒbəbli /

UK / ˈprɑbəbli /

A1
  • adverb
  • That is likely to happen or be true

amazing

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US / ə'meɪzɪŋ /

UK / ə'meɪzɪŋ /

A2
  • adjecitve
  • Surprising in a pleasing way
  • verb
  • To cause wonder; to surprise completely

steel

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US / sti:l /

UK / stil /

A2
  • adjecitve
  • Made of, or partly made of, a strong silvery metal
  • noun
  • Very strong or determined character in a person
  • Very strong metal made of iron, etc.
  • verb
  • To prepare yourself for something difficult

extremely

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US / ɪkˈstri:mli /

UK / ɪk'strimlɪ /

B1
  • adverb
  • In a way that is much more than usual or expected

designer

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US / dɪˈzaɪnə(r) /

UK / dɪˈzaɪnə /

A2
  • adjecitve
  • Describing something that has been designed
  • noun
  • Someone who creates plans to make something

technology

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US / tek'nɒlədʒɪ /

UK / tɛkˈnɑlədʒi /

A2
  • noun
  • Use or knowledge of science in industry etc.

replace

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US / rɪ'pleɪs /

UK / rɪˈples /

A2
  • verb
  • To use instead of something else
  • To return an item to its original location

light

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US / laɪt /

UK / laɪt /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • Being bright making it easy to see; not dark
  • Being pale and lacking darkness of color
  • Not heavy; weighing only a little
  • adverb
  • Carrying few bags when traveling
  • noun
  • A source of energy that makes a room or area bright
  • Way in which something or someone is understood
  • verb
  • To cause something to burn; put a burning match to
  • To provide a way to see ahead

logic

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US / ˈlɒdʒɪk /

UK / ˈlɑ:dʒɪk /

A2
  • noun
  • Proper, valid sensible reasoning
  • Scientific study of reasoning

send

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US / send /

UK / sɛnd /

A1
  • verb
  • To cause to behave or respond in a particular way
  • To cause mail or packages to go to another place
  • To move something quickly in a particular way
  • To give information or greetings to someone

start

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US / stɑ:t /

UK / stɑrt /

A1
  • noun
  • First time or place that a thing exists; beginning
  • First opportunity to achieve something, e.g. a job
  • Sudden action or movement because you are scared
  • other
  • Beginning of something in place or time
  • verb
  • To do, be or happen for the first time; begin
  • To turn something on

soon

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US / su:n /

UK / sun /

A1
  • adverb
  • At a time not long from now

for

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US / fə(r) /

UK / fɔr,fə /

A1
  • preposition
  • Used to show the purpose, or need of something

replicate

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US / 'replɪkeɪt /

UK / ˈrɛplɪˌket /

A1
  • verb
  • To make one or more exact copies of itself
  • To repeat something (e.g. experiment, process)

manufacturing

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US / ˌmænjuˈfæktʃərɪŋ /

UK / ˌmænjəˈfæktʃərɪŋ /

A2
  • noun
  • The act of making things in factories
  • verb
  • To produce large numbers of products in a factory
  • To create a story or explanation that is not true

question

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US / 'kwestʃən /

UK / ˈkwɛstʃən /

A1
  • noun
  • Issue or problems you are dealing with
  • What you ask about; issue
  • verb
  • To ask for or try to get information
  • To have or express concerns or uncertainty

pair

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US / peə(r) /

UK / per /

A2
  • noun
  • Two of the same thing, e.g. socks
  • Two people viewed together for some reason; couple
  • verb
  • To put two things or people together

hour

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US / 'aʊə(r) /

UK / aʊr /

A1
  • noun
  • 60 minutes
  • Particular time of the day
  • Fixed, regularly occurring time

just

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US / dʒʌst /

UK / dʒʌst /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • Proper or appropriate; as is deserved
  • Doing or being what is right or fair
  • Legally correct; having enough evidence
  • adverb
  • Almost; nearly
  • Exactly at the time of
  • Exactly (the same as, like)

system

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US / 'sɪstəm /

UK / ˈsɪstəm /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • Working in an organized, logical way
  • noun
  • Set of organized, planned ideas that work together

time

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US / taɪm /

UK / taɪm /

A1
  • noun
  • Speed at which music is played; tempo
  • Point as shown on a clock, e.g. 3 p.m
  • Number of hours, minutes needed to do something
  • Occasion when something happens
  • Period or occasion that something occurred
  • Period in history or the past
  • Something measured in minutes, hours, days, etc.
  • How long an event takes; duration
  • verb
  • To check speed at which music is performed
  • To choose a specific moment to do something
  • To measure how long an event takes, e.g. a race
  • To schedule something to occur at a specific moment

check

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US / tʃek /

UK / tʃɛk /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • Decorated with squares made up of lines
  • noun
  • Paper showing how much you owe at a restaurant
  • Printed piece of paper you sign to pay for things
  • A mark on a form, equivalent to 'yes'; tick
  • Mark used to show that something is correct
  • Procedure to prevent errors or control something
  • verb
  • To confirm the details of something are correct
  • To leave your things with staff who look after it
  • To examine something to see if something is wrong
  • To examine in order to prevent errors/a problem

exact

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US / ɪɡ'zækt /

UK / ɪɡˈzækt /

A2
  • adjecitve
  • Completely correct; accurate; specific
  • verb
  • To get something, sometimes using force

climb

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US / klaɪm /

UK / klaɪm /

A1
  • noun
  • A trip up something, e.g. a mountain
  • Increase or a rise toward a higher price or point
  • verb
  • To rise gradually and steadily to a higher point
  • To increase or rise toward a higher price or point

through

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US / θru: /

UK / θru /

A2
  • adjecitve
  • having finished using or doing something
  • adverb
  • From the beginning of something until the end
  • preposition
  • Over, in, across an entire thing or place
  • Allowing you to pass between, or to
  • By a particular way or process; by the use of

unit

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US / ˈju:nɪt /

UK / ˈjunɪt /

B2
  • noun
  • One apartment in a building
  • Group of people, e.g. soldiers, that work together
  • A chapter of a textbook
  • A standard of measurement of something
  • Single item made by a company

identical

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US / aɪˈdentɪkl /

UK / aɪˈdɛntɪkəl /

B1
  • adjecitve
  • The same in every way

before

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US / bɪˈfɔ:(r) /

UK / bɪˈfɔr,-ˈfor /

A1
  • adverb
  • At a time earlier than the present; previously
  • conjunction
  • In advance of something happening
  • preposition
  • In front of someone or something

activate

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US / ˈæktɪveɪt /

UK / ˈæktəˌvet /

B1
  • verb
  • To cause to happen; cause a chemical reaction
  • To make something start working

world

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US / wɜ:ld /

UK / wɜrld /

A1
  • noun
  • All the humans, events, activities on the earth
  • Political division due to some kind of similarity

parallel

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US / 'pærəlel /

UK / ˈpærəˌlɛl /

B1
  • adjecitve
  • (Of two lines) at equal distance from each other
  • (Of computer operation) happening at the same time
  • Very similar and often occurring at the same time
  • noun
  • A line on a map a set distance from the equator
  • verb
  • To be equal to, or like, something else
  • To compare

part

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US / pɑ:t /

UK / pɑ:rt /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • To some degree; half; not fully
  • noun
  • Division of a book
  • Ratio of something, e.g. 3 of gin, 1 of tonic
  • A line in a person's hair, made with a comb
  • Character an actor plays on stage, movie, or TV
  • Some, but not all of a specific thing
  • Role in causing something to happen
  • verb
  • To make a line in a person's hair, by using a comb
  • To move two things apart creating a space
  • To leave someone, or to break off a relationship

engineer

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US / ˌendʒɪ'nɪə(r) /

UK / ˌɛndʒəˈnɪr /

A2
  • noun
  • Someone whose job is designing machines, buildings
  • Someone whose job is to repair or maintain engines

last

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US / lɑ:st /

UK / læst /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • Most recent; the latest
  • The one before
  • adverb
  • Final; with nothing following; after all others
  • Most recent; the latest
  • determiner
  • The one at the end
  • verb
  • To remain or continue for a certain period of time

have

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US / həv /

UK / hæv /

A1
  • verb
  • To drink, smoke, eat or use something
  • To experience the effects of something
  • To organize an event, or join in an activity
  • To own, possess, or hold something
  • To cause to happen or produce a particular effect

fundamental

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US / ˌfʌndəˈmentl /

UK / ˌfʌndəˈmɛntl /

A2
  • adjecitve
  • Forming a necessary part, base, or core
  • noun
  • A basic part of something
  • (Music) the lowest note in a harmony

scientist

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US / ˈsaɪəntɪst /

UK / ˈsaɪəntɪst /

A2
  • noun
  • Person who is trained in a science

negative

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US / 'neɡətɪv /

UK / ˈnɛɡətɪv /

A2
  • adjecitve
  • Being harmful, unwanted or unhelpful
  • In mathematics, being less than zero
  • Focusing on the bad aspects; pessimistic
  • noun
  • The opposite to a positive electrical charge
  • In grammar, containing words such as 'no' or 'not'
  • Reply to a question or statement that means 'no'
  • Image on camera film used to make a photo

computation

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US / ˌkɒmpjuˈteɪʃn /

UK / ˌkɑmpjʊˈteʃən /

B1
  • noun
  • Act of calculating; method of computing

next

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US / nekst /

UK / nɛkst /

A1
  • adverb
  • The one that follows another in time or order
  • At a time or place directly after the present one
  • noun
  • The one that follows after
  • adjecitve
  • Immediately after the previous one
  • First occurrence after the present one

could

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US / kəd /

UK / kʊd /

A1
  • other
  • Past form of 'can' to mean have ability
  • Used to ask for something politely, or to offer

information

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US / ˌɪnfəˈmeɪʃn /

UK / ˌɪnfɚˈmeʃən /

A1
  • noun
  • Collection of facts and details about something

reconfigurable

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US / plʌm /

UK / plʌm /

A1

with

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US / wɪð /

UK / wɪð, wɪθ /

A1
  • preposition
  • As an employee of a certain company
  • Against something or someone
  • By using something as a means
  • Due to; because of
  • Including
  • Possessing as a feature
  • Related to
  • (Of the manner/attitude by which you do something)
  • Used to express that people or things are together

machine

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US / mə'ʃi:n /

UK / məˈʃin /

A1
  • noun
  • Piece of equipment used to do work
  • Powerful group who control and organize things
  • verb
  • To shape, work on something, using a device

output

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US / 'aʊtpʊt /

UK / ˈaʊtˌpʊt /

A2
  • noun
  • Amount of something that is produced
  • verb
  • To produce data or information, as a computer

want

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US / wɔnt /

UK / wɑnt, wɔnt /

A1
  • noun
  • Something you desire or wish for
  • State or condition of poverty
  • verb
  • To desire or wish for something; hope for a thing

scale

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US / skeɪl /

UK / skel /

A2
  • noun
  • Size, level, or amount when compared
  • Small hard plates that cover the body of fish
  • Device that is used to weigh a person or thing
  • Range of numbers from the lowest to the highest
  • Dimensions or size of something
  • verb
  • To change the size of but keep the proportions
  • To climb something large (e.g. a mountain)
  • To remove the scales of a fish

spiral

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US / 'spaɪrəl /

UK / ˈspaɪrəl /

B2
  • adjecitve
  • Curved in a continuous circle
  • noun
  • A continuous curve round a central point
  • verb
  • To move in a continuous curve round a point

give

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US / ɡɪv /

UK / ɡɪv /

A1
  • noun
  • Degree of flexibility in something, a material
  • verb
  • To hand over or present something to someone
  • To cause someone to have or experience something

tiny

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US / 'taɪnɪ /

UK / ˈtaɪni /

A2
  • adjecitve
  • Very, very small

can

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US / kæn /

UK / kən,kæn /

A1
  • noun
  • A metal container for storing food
  • other
  • Able to; have the skill to; have the time to
  • verb
  • To have permission to
  • To be possible to do
  • To preserve food by sealing it in a metal container

themselves

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US / ðəmˈselvz /

UK / ðɛmˈsɛlvz, ðəm- /

A1
  • pronoun
  • Reflexive form of 'they'

achieve

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US / ə'tʃi:v /

UK / əˈtʃiv /

A2
  • verb
  • To succeed in doing good, usually by working hard

brilliant

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US / 'brɪlɪənt /

UK / ˈbrɪljənt /

A2
  • adjecitve
  • Having a great amount of intelligence or talent
  • Being very bright, like a diamond; shining

really

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US / ˈri:əli /

UK / ˈriəˌli, ˈrili /

A1
  • adverb
  • Used to stress something that is said; definitely
  • In a true or accurate manner
  • Very

now

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US / naʊ /

UK / naʊ /

A1
  • adverb
  • At the present time or moment
  • Right away or in the next possible moment
  • Used to refer to something that just happened
  • Time between the present and a moment in the past
  • conjunction
  • Resulting from or because of something

towards

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US / tə'wɔ:dz /

UK / 'təuədz, twɔ:dz /

A1
  • preposition
  • In the direction of someone or something

compare

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US / kəm'peə(r) /

UK / kəmˈpɛr /

A1
  • verb
  • To consider how similar and different things are

our

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US / 'aʊə(r) /

UK / aʊr /

A1
  • determiner
  • Belonging to us

gate

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US / ɡeɪt /

UK / ɡet /

A2
  • noun
  • Place in a fence which can be opened or closed

fix

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US / fɪks /

UK / fɪks /

A2
  • noun
  • Answer to a problem
  • verb
  • To arrange or prepare something
  • To attach something so it will not move or change
  • To dishonestly arrange the result of a game
  • To make an animal unable to produce young
  • To make something whole or able to work again

assembly

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US / ə'semblɪ /

UK / əˈsɛmbli /

B1
  • noun
  • Process of putting the parts of something together
  • Group of people gathered for a purpose
  • A group of machine parts forming a tool or machine

but

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US / bət /

UK / bʌt,bət /

A1
  • conjunction
  • Used before you say something different, opposite

angle

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US / ˈæŋgl /

UK / ˈæŋɡəl /

B1
  • noun
  • Place where two lines or surfaces meet

equal

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US / 'i:kwəl /

UK / ˈikwəl /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • Same in shape, size, or number
  • verb
  • To add up or be the same as

sensor

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US / ˈsensə(r) /

UK / ˈsɛnsɚ, -ˌsɔr /

B2
  • noun
  • Device that detects movement or physical stimuli

protein

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US / ˈprəʊti:n /

UK / ˈprəʊˌtiːn /

B1
  • noun
  • Group of molecules made from amino acids

would

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US / wʊd /

UK / wʊd /

A1
  • other
  • Used to indicate something imagined
  • Used to ask or request something politely
  • Verb used to indicate possibility, request etc.
  • Used to indicate a preference
  • Used to indicate a reaction
  • Indicates something that occurred repeatedly
  • Used to indicate willingness or ability to do

structure

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US / ˈstrʌk.tʃə /

UK / ˈstrʌk.tʃɚ /

A2
  • noun
  • The way in which the parts of a system or object are arranged or organized, or a system arranged in
  • verb
  • To plan, organize, or arrange the parts of something

concrete

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US / 'kɒŋkri:t /

UK / kɑnˈkrit, kɑŋ-, ˈkɑnˌkrit, ˈkɑŋ- /

B1
  • adjecitve
  • Concerning something that is physical or real
  • noun
  • Hard building material made of cement, sand, water
  • verb
  • To cover or make with a hard grey building material

distribute

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US / dɪˈstrɪbju:t /

UK / dɪˈstrɪbjut /

A2
  • verb
  • To hand out or give to people
  • To send products to stores to sell
  • To spread something over an area

reconfiguration

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US / ˌriːkənˌfɪgjʊˈreɪʃən /

UK / rikənˌfɪgjəˈreɪʃən /

A1
  • noun
  • The arrangement of parts or elements in a different form, figure, or combination.

repair

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US / rɪˈpeə(r) /

UK / rɪˈper /

A2
  • noun
  • How well cared for a thing is; physical condition
  • Action to fix or restore something that is broken
  • verb
  • To fix or restore something that is broken
  • To fix or correct the damage that one has caused

build

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US / bɪld /

UK / bɪld /

A1
  • noun
  • Your physical shape; physique
  • verb
  • To establish e.g. a reputation, over time
  • To construct a house, office, factory

dollar

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US / ˈdɒlə(r) /

UK / ˈdɑ:lə(r) /

A1
  • noun
  • A basic unit of money equal to 100 cent

look

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US / lʊk /

UK / lʊk /

A1
  • noun
  • Person's beauty or physical attractiveness
  • Particular style of dress, clothes, or appearance
  • The way someone, something appears to be
  • Act of searching for or examining something
  • verb
  • To appear to be; seem

thank

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US / θæŋk /

UK / θæŋk /

A1
  • verb
  • To tell someone you are grateful to them

believe

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US / bɪ'li:v /

UK / bɪˈliv /

A1
  • verb
  • To think or accept that something is true
  • To have a particular opinion about something

design

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US / dɪˈzaɪn /

UK / dɪˈzaɪn /

A1
  • noun
  • The way something is planned, to fulfill a purpose
  • verb
  • To plan in a particular way to fulfill a purpose
  • To think of a plan

passively

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US / 'pæsɪvlɪ /

UK / 'pæsɪvlɪ /

B1
  • adverb
  • So as to quietly accept what happens

its

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US / ɪts /

UK / ɪts /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • Referring to or belonging to ‘it’
  • determiner
  • Of something; belonging or related to something
  • other
  • Possessive form of “it”

take

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US / teɪk /

UK / tek /

A1
  • noun
  • Filming of a single scene for TV or the movies
  • verb
  • To accept something that is offered
  • To use a method of traveling, e.g. a bus or train
  • To use a camera to make (a photo)
  • To pick up something and go away with it
  • To study a subject in school
  • To attempt to pass (an exam)
  • To require a certain amount of time, money, space

configuration

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US / kənˌfɪgəˈreɪʃn /

UK / kənˌfɪɡjəˈreʃən /

B2
  • noun
  • A shape or outline; a method of arrangement

project

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US / prəˈdʒekt /

UK / prəˈdʒɛkt /

A1
  • noun
  • A planned piece of work for specific purpose
  • Group of homes built by government for poor people
  • verb
  • To predict what will happen in the future
  • To show something on a screen using light
  • To stick out past the edge of something

biased

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US / ˈbaɪəst /

UK / ˈbaɪəst /

B1
  • verb
  • To unfairly favor one view over another

building

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US / ˈbɪldɪŋ /

UK / ˈbɪldɪŋ /

A1
  • noun
  • A structure with a roof and walls, e.g. a house
  • verb
  • To establish e.g. a reputation, over time
  • To construct a house, office, factory

string

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US / strɪŋ /

UK / strɪŋ /

A2
  • noun
  • A line of connected objects
  • Thick thread; thin rope
  • verb
  • To tie or connect things together with a thread

neighbour

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US / 'neɪbə(r) /

UK / ˈnebɚ /

B1
  • noun
  • Person who lives, or is near, you

work

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US / wɜ:k /

UK / wɚk /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • Activity completed in order to make money
  • noun
  • The product of some artistic or literary endeavor
  • Everything created by an author, artist, musician
  • Activity you do in order to make money
  • Place of employment
  • Final product or result of a some labor or effort
  • verb
  • To bring into a specific state of success
  • To be functioning properly, e.g. a car
  • To do your job in your company or workplace
  • To make an effort to do something
  • To operate a machine or device

device

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US / dɪˈvaɪs /

UK / dɪˈvaɪs /

A2
  • noun
  • Object, machine, or equipment for a specific use
  • Method of doing something; a way

billion

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US / ˈbɪljən /

UK / ˈbɪljən /

A2
  • noun
  • Number 1,000,000,000

show

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US / ʃəʊ /

UK / ʃo /

A1
  • noun
  • False display of love, emotion or action
  • An event for displaying or promoting goods
  • Play, opera or theater production
  • Presentation that is broadcast on TV or radio
  • verb
  • To be easily seen or displayed
  • To display your emotions or feelings
  • To let someone see something; display
  • To explain or teach how something is done
  • To lead someone somewhere; point them to something
  • To prove something to be true, correct
  • To reveal or allow something to be seen

nature

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US / 'neɪtʃə(r) /

UK / ˈnetʃɚ /

A1
  • noun
  • Person's character or particular way of behaving
  • Basic look, feel or function of something
  • Physical world, including plants, animals, rocks

super

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US / ˈsu:pə(r) /

UK / ˈsupɚ /

A2
  • adjecitve
  • Of the highest quality; great; marvelous

error

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US / ˈerə(r) /

UK / ˈɛrɚ /

A2
  • noun
  • Something that is not correct; a mistake

space

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US / speɪs /

UK / spes /

A1
  • noun
  • Empty area kept for a specific reason, like a car
  • Empty area with nothing in it
  • Area in the sky where the stars are
  • Area between written words on a page
  • verb
  • To make a certain distance or time between

way

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US / weɪ /

UK / we /

A1
  • adverb
  • Used to emphasize the amount of something
  • noun
  • Particular aspect of something being thought about
  • One of various choices that could be made
  • Particular existing condition or state
  • (Often long) distance or length of time
  • How something is done
  • Route to go to a place
  • Small street
  • Usual behavior, emotions or habits of someone

bring

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US / brɪŋ /

UK / brɪŋ /

A1
  • verb
  • To take or go with someone to a place

guarantee

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US / ˌɡærən'ti: /

UK / ˌɡærənˈti /

A2
  • noun
  • A promise to repair a broken product
  • Promise that something will be done as expected
  • verb
  • To promise to repair a broken product
  • To promise that something will happen or be done
  • To promise to pay if another person fails to do so

implement

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US / ˈɪmplɪment /

UK / ˈɪmpləmənt /

B1
  • noun
  • A tool
  • verb
  • To start to do something you plan to do

they

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US / ðeɪ /

UK / ðe /

A1
  • pronoun
  • Two or more people, animals, or things

embed

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US / ɪm'bed /

UK / ɛmˈbɛd /

B2
  • verb
  • To place or set inside rock, etc.

all

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US / ɔ:l /

UK / ɔl /

A1
  • adverb
  • Completely; totally
  • determiner
  • Being every one of something
  • pronoun
  • 100% of something; the complete amount

simple

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US / 'sɪmpl /

UK / ˈsɪmpəl /

A1
  • adjecitve
  • Not hard to understand or do; not complex
  • Having only a few parts; not complex
  • Being ordinary or normal
  • Being plain; without a lot added for style

move

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US / mu:v /

UK / muv /

A1
  • noun
  • Act of moving a playing piece in chess, etc.
  • An action; doing something
  • Step taken to achieve a goal
  • verb
  • To cause someone to have certain emotions
  • To cause something to change to a different place
  • To change where people live or a business operates
  • To take action to do or achieve something
  • Subtitles section
  • Today I'd like to show you the future of the way we make things.
  • I believe that soon our buildings and machines will be self-assembling, replicating and repairing themselves.
  • So I'm going to show you what I believe is the current state of manufacturing, and then compare that to some natural systems.
  • So in the current state of manufacturing, we have skyscrapers -- two and a half years [of assembly time], 500,000 to a million parts, fairly complex, new, exciting technologies in steel, concrete, glass.
  • We have exciting machines that can take us into space -- five years [of assembly time], 2.5 million parts.
  • But on the other side, if you look at the natural systems, we have proteins that have two million types, can fold in 10,000 nanoseconds, or DNA with three billion base pairs we can replicate in roughly an hour.
  • So there's all of this complexity in our natural systems, but they're extremely efficient, far more efficient than anything we can build, far more complex than anything we can build.
  • They're far more efficient in terms of energy.
  • They hardly ever make mistakes.
  • And they can repair themselves for longevity.
  • So there's something super interesting about natural systems.
  • And if we can translate that into our built environment, then there's some exciting potential for the way that we build things.
  • And I think the key to that is self-assembly.
  • So if we want to utilize self-assembly in our physical environment, I think there's four key factors.
  • The first is that we need to decode all of the complexity of what we want to build -- so our buildings and machines.
  • And we need to decode that into simple sequences -- basically the DNA of how our buildings work.
  • Then we need programmable parts that can take that sequence and use that to fold up, or reconfigure.
  • We need some energy that's going to allow that to activate, allow our parts to be able to fold up from the program.
  • And we need some type of error correction redundancy to guarantee that we have successfully built what we want.
  • So I'm going to show you a number of projects that my colleagues and I at MIT are working on to achieve this self-assembling future.
  • The first two are the MacroBot and DeciBot.
  • So these projects are large-scale reconfigurable robots -- 8 ft., 12 ft. long proteins.
  • They're embedded with mechanical electrical devices, sensors.
  • You decode what you want to fold up into, into a sequence of angles -- so negative 120, negative 120, 0, 0, 120, negative 120 -- something like that; so a sequence of angles, or turns, and you send that sequence through the string.
  • Each unit takes its message -- so negative 120 -- it rotates to that, checks if it got there and then passes it to its neighbor.
  • So these are the brilliant scientists, engineers, designers that worked on this project.
  • And I think it really brings to light: Is this really scalable?
  • I mean, thousands of dollars, lots of man hours made to make this eight-foot robot.
  • Can we really scale this up? Can we really embed robotics into every part?
  • The next one questions that and looks at passive nature, or passively trying to have reconfiguration programmability.
  • But it goes a step further, and it tries to have actual computation.
  • It basically embeds the most fundamental building block of computing, the digital logic gate, directly into your parts.
  • So this is a NAND gate.
  • You have one tetrahedron which is the gate that's going to do your computing, and you have two input tetrahedrons.
  • One of them is the input from the user, as you're building your bricks.
  • The other one is from the previous brick that was placed.
  • And then it gives you an output in 3D space.
  • So what this means is that the user can start plugging in what they want the bricks to do.
  • It computes on what it was doing before and what you said you wanted it to do.
  • And now it starts moving in three-dimensional space -- so up or down.
  • So on the left-hand side, [1,1] input equals 0 output, which goes down.
  • On the right-hand side, [0,0] input is a 1 output, which goes up.
  • And so what that really means is that our structures now contain the blueprints of what we want to build.
  • So they have all of the information embedded in them of what was constructed.
  • So that means that we can have some form of self-replication.
  • In this case I call it self-guided replication, because your structure contains the exact blueprints.
  • If you have errors, you can replace a part.
  • All the local information is embedded to tell you how to fix it.
  • So you could have something that climbs along and reads it and can output at one to one.
  • It's directly embedded; there's no external instructions.
  • So the last project I'll show is called Biased Chains, and it's probably the most exciting example that we have right now of passive self-assembly systems.
  • So it takes the reconfigurability and programmability and makes it a completely passive system.
  • So basically you have a chain of elements.
  • Each element is completely identical, and they're biased.
  • So each chain, or each element, wants to turn right or left.
  • So as you assemble the chain, you're basically programming it.
  • You're telling each unit if it should turn right or left.
  • So when you shake the chain, it then folds up into any configuration that you've programmed in -- so in this case, a spiral, or in this case, two cubes next to each other.
  • So you can basically program any three-dimensional shape -- or one-dimensional, two-dimensional -- up into this chain completely passively.
  • So what does this tell us about the future?
  • I think that it's telling us that there's new possibilities for self-assembly, replication, repair in our physical structures, our buildings, machines.
  • There's new programmability in these parts.
  • And from that you have new possibilities for computing.
  • We'll have spatial computing.
  • Imagine if our buildings, our bridges, machines, all of our bricks could actually compute.
  • That's amazing parallel and distributed computing power, new design possibilities.
  • So it's exciting potential for this.
  • So I think these projects I've showed here are just a tiny step towards this future, if we implement these new technologies for a new self-assembling world.
  • Thank you.
  • (Applause)