At Monday night’s meeting we discussed where we are headed with our project and our presentation boards. Currently we are working to produce a digital 3d model of the nanobot (and associated parts) in 3ds max for the presentation models and diagrams. For the structure we are working with Bentley GC. Our idea for Bentley is to deform a box (made up of a grid of points), based on certain criteria. The structure will read; temperature, precipation(rainfall/snowfall), wind conditions, sun angle, and latitude/longitude. It will also calculate internal conditions such as desired layouts, number of persons living there, and BTUs. All of these factors will be calculated which will then deform the box to a shape and layout which is defined by these values. Four example cities have been picked, which will set up different climate conditions for our structure. The Climate Information is available via the link. Solar and Wind analysis programs will be used to model these effects on the structure.
We also discussed how we are going to layout our boards and what information we are going to need for them. Our plan right now is to make the boards in the same manner we are making the structure, from the bottom up. This will show the nanobot at it’s smallest scales; from breaking up of molecules and nanotube connectors, to forming the actual walls and capillary systems. This will be done by showing the process and at the same time showing blown up details and sections of the nanobot itself. Each board will be layed out to explain a different part of the project–nanoarchitecture, digital database/user interface, and structural changes due to climate. How the user interacts with this structure, and vica versa, was also discussed.
Our next meeting is set before the end of the week (Friday). Here we will be gathering more data, as well as showing our preliminary models, and fine tuning our structure in Bentley GC. Until then we will be modelling, working on the scripting for the structure, and gathering more data for the scripting.
archimorph 
I’ve been having a little trouble making the digital model of the nanobot–Rendering a full nanobot is not much of a problem, but attaching all of the parts to boolean away half of the body, for the section cut/detail, crashes the program…
We may have to construct the nanotube in GC, either populating the tubular surface, or creating a fullerene [structural] grid.
It looks like we’re going to modelling everything from the structure to the nanotube in GC. Scripting might also be done using Rhino or Maya. The modelling cannot be handled using 3ds Max, so it will be scripted. Max or Maya will be used for smaller graphics for the boards and the final renderings of the structure. For the structure we are looking at Lindenmayer Systems(L-Systems) and ‘Turtle Graphics’ as a system for scripting our structure. We are looking at algorithims and if, then statements which will allow our autonomous structure to grow on its own (with limits set) and then deform from its other conditions. The limits set would be an input, such as number of persons living in the structure.
As for the user interaction and database, which will link structures and users together, I am working on a system which comes from hybrid peer-to-peer networking. This will allow ‘People to work together on designs and construction, without any direct communication or even common interest’. Structures will become nodes in a network, which will share information about the efficiency of the structure and weather/climate data.