Sending Signals Through Mechanical Wiring

Some progress has been made in the development of logic gates from mechanical systems, but in order to realize fully functioning devices, we need a reliable way to transmit a mechanical signal between logic gates. We consider a mechanical “wire”, a series of bistable units that interact with each other, as a way to connect the output of one logic gate to the input of another logic gate. Using both computer simulations and analytical calculation to analyze the propagation of a signal through the wire, we have determined how parameters such as the number of bistable units and the signal strength affect how far a signal can propagate through the wire. We determine whether and to what degree signals can propagate based on the shape of the bistable potential.