ARC³

The Kinetic Library: an open-access archive of mechanism designs with prompt-to-print generative AI

PI: Prof. Matteo Russo
Grant: FIS-2024-01880

Project abstract. New technologies have made software immediately accessible to everyone, causing an exponential growth of the software market. Conversely, hardware has lagged behind because of the lack of accessible design infrastructure and intrinsic costs, related to materials, manufacturing, and maintenance. Thanks to the abundance of free resources, anyone with a laptop can create new functional software in a few hours of coding. How long would it take for the same person to design and manufacture a machine? This project aims at breaching this barrier by making mechanism design accessible to everyone. By encouraging new generations to experiment with hardware through an AI-enhanced experience, we will generate favourable conditions for hardware to benefit from the same exponential growth as software.

This target will be achieved with three tools:

I. Archive: a library of open-access models of mechanical 3D elements as ready-to-use design blocks. A framework of guidelines and standards will ensure that the models are modular, scalable, and interconnectable. Educational documentation for each model, with technical and historical notes, will make the Archive immediately usable by anyone.

II. Archivist: a management system to curate the Archive and automate the ongoing insertion of new models into the database. This tool will define new vocabulary and syntax for classification with a focus not only on human users, but also AI models. The Archivist will also optimise user searches, ensuring that a person browsing the Archive can easily find relevant models.

III. Architect: an AI model to generate new functional models from user prompts. Through the Archivist’s syntax and vocabulary, the Architect will learn the building blocks of the Archive and combine them to create new mechanisms that achieve the desired motion or functionality. With a prompt-to-prototype strategy, this tool will provide the user with a 3D-printable file that can be immediately manufactured.