LEGO Turing Machine

[qw]

Two researchers from the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (Center Mathematics and Computer Science) in Amsterdam built a Turing Machine from LEGO building blocks: www.legoturingmachine.org. How do you like that?

[Solar]

Well... so-so.

It's nice, it's Lego, and it's a Turing machine.

However, I feel the mental picture of a Turing machine, i.e. a machine actually flipping bits on a tape (or chain), has lost some of its appeal to me ever since there was Brainfuck.

[qw]

I'd like to see a Brainfuck compiler in LEGO

[CowboyGibson]

I'd like to see a Brainfuck compiler in LEGO

Hello,

I wish to tell you that I'm working on it though in fact a Brainfuck interpreter or mechanical Brainfuck processor would fit better than compiler

I've added the constraint to not use any electronics (e.g. mindstorm computer bricks) since emulating processors on other processors is being done all the time though one or more electric motors that could easily be replaced by a crank should be OK

As Brainfuck is proven Turing Complete, this machine will become a Turing Machine

Since my ordinary job takes most of my productive time, this project will progress somewhat slowly, but status is:

A lot of functionality is designed on paper, including basic design and choices
7 bit register (ASCII is mentioned in original Brainfuck post)
3 bit instruction stack (gives itself)
LEGO soccer balls (as used in LEGO GBC) acts as bits and event carriers
event driven - no clock - every task will take the required time

A 7 bit binary adder register is built and working
it can easily perform the + instruction ( increment )
- (decrement) is being solved by adding 127
a rack producing the number 127 is built and working

detailed drawings exist on next versions of the register, with necessary abilities like flush and read-out.
also detailed drawings of instruction decoder and suggestions to dot matrix display for output is waiting to be tried out in Real Brick.

If you find this interesting, I will gladly share the development of this project

Best Regards

[dozniak]

Cool, can you post pictures and videos of it operating somewhere?

[qw]

Yes, I'd like to see those too.