Mass customized testing and manufacturing via the Internet

This paper sets forth a global scheme for creating Internet-accessible mach ines that perform a variety of digital-physical operations in a highly flex ible manner. The scheme integrates existing capabilities and technologies f rom a number of areas - laboratory science, automation and robotics, interc onnect standards, object-oriented languages, relational databases,shipping services, and Internet providers. For scientific and medical research appli cations, the batch science machines described herein would serve as program mable laboratory technicians, perform the work of hundreds of humans, and h elp investigators tackle "big" problems. For consumer- related applications , the batch manufacturing machines described herein would allow individuals to design, order, and purchase many types of customized product at the tou ch of a button. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.