https://ideas.lego.com/projects/10a3239f-4562-4d23-ba8e-f4fc94eef5c7 LEGO IDEAS Logo How It Works LEGO IDEAS Logo Product Idea | Sep 12, 2024 Working Turing Machine The Bananaman 201864801 Avatar By The Bananaman 201864801 120 comments Help your fellow builder by leaving your feedback based on these three criteria: * Originality: How original is this - never seen before? * Building Techniques: How much skill do you think the creator of this MOC has, in terms of building technique? * Details: Express how much you like the details of the build. Your feedback is only shown to the creator as well as yourself. It is not available for other users to see. The creator won't see your user name. Description Updates 1 Comments 120 Official LEGO Comments 2 Statistics Description Updates 1 Comments 120 Official LEGO Comments 2 Statistics Last Updated . Click "Updates" above to see the latest. What is a Turing machine? Depending on who you ask, it's either an abstract model of an algorithmic machine or an esoteric programming language. It's named after its creator, Alan Turing- an English cryptologist. The machine consists of: * an infinitely long (in real life: long enough to do all practical programs) tape with symbols that can be moved left and right * a "head" over one of the symbols that can read it and overwrite it with a new one, * some registers containing the state of the machine, * a table linking each combination of state and symbol to an instruction what to do next. ...and the working cycle of the machine looks like this: 1. read the symbol from the tape 2. based on the symbol and the state, see what to do next in the table 3. based on the instruction, go to a new state and print a new symbol in place of the one that has been read 4. also based on the instruction, move the tape 1 symbol left or right or exit the program The cycle continues until the machine stops. This way it can execute any computer algorithm. About the model The model has 4 (22) possible symbols and 8 (23) possible states, so in total 32 possible symbol-state combinations. Each instruction has 7 bits (3 for the state, 2 for the symbol, 1 for moving left/right and 1 for stopping), so the "source code" takes 7*32 = 224 bits or 14 bytes. That means you can make 2^224 [?] 2.69*1067 programs! (most of them will be useless though). The mechanism is also quiet complex for a Lego set. It connects all the functions to 1 input, so that the model requires no electric motor. You can see how it works in the video. Won't there be a problem with Intellectual Property? No, the Turing machine is a mathematical model and has no Intellectual Property :) Isn't it too big? The biggest disadvantage of the model is that it has ~2900 parts and barely fits of Lego IDEAS' limit of 3000 parts. However, a lot of them are functional (i.e. part of the mechanism) or used to make the framework more sturdy because the mechanism is very precise and needs good support. Why would it be a good set? Because: * You can play with it, * You can make your own programs, * It has an interesting mechanism inside, * Its an implementation of a popular theoretical model. The Bananaman 201864801 Avatar By The Bananaman 201864801 120 comments Help your fellow builder by leaving your feedback based on these three criteria: * Originality: How original is this - never seen before? * Building Techniques: How much skill do you think the creator of this MOC has, in terms of building technique? * Details: Express how much you like the details of the build. Your feedback is only shown to the creator as well as yourself. It is not available for other users to see. The creator won't see your user name. Recommended More To Do Product Idea Submit A Product Idea Submit Now LEGO IDEAS Logo LEGO, the LEGO logo and the Minifigure are trademarks of the LEGO Group. (c)2008-2024 The LEGO Group. All Rights Reserved. * How it Works * Guidelines * House Rules * Help and FAQ * Customer Service * Privacy Policy * Terms of Service * EU Digital Services Act Notice Opens in a new window