Clark said that if Replicator is being put to the test, there are several things the Defense Department would need to do. Given the currently keen interest in biotechnology and the high levels of funding in that field, attempts to exploit the replicative ability of existing cells are timely, and may easily lead to significant insights and advances.

A variation of self replication is of practical relevance in compiler construction, where a similar bootstrapping problem occurs as in natural self replication. A compiler ( phenotype) can be applied on the compiler's own source code ( genotype) producing the compiler itself. During compiler development, a modified ( mutated) source is used to create the next generation of the compiler. This process differs from natural self-replication in that the process is directed by an engineer, not by the subject itself. Become a part of a global network of 3D creators and developers connecting and creating virtual worlds with NVIDIA Omniverse. a b von Neumann, John; Burks, Arthur W. (1966), Theory of Self-Reproducing Automata. (Scanned book online), University of Illinois Press , retrieved 2017-02-28 Mieke Schüller (2 October 2005). Star Trek - The Americanization of Space. GRIN Verlag. p.5. ISBN 978-3-638-42309-0. Freitas Interstellar Probe Replicator (1979-1980)". Molecularassembler.com. 2005-08-01 . Retrieved 2009-09-16.Captain Janeway feared that if this technology were acquired by a civilization before they were ready, disastrous consequences could ensue. For this reason, and because of the Prime Directive, Janeway refused to give away the technology at any price.

Replicator needs to integrate with the defense industrial base and to ramp up drone production. It should leverage commercial technologies, according to Greenwalt. Echoing this point, Clark said that the DoD needs to show its interest and investment in drones as a signal to the industrial base to increase production. Per an odd after-credits scene in the Star Trek: Short Treks episode " The Trouble with Edward", 23rd century food synthesizers apparently incorporated replicator safety protocols, although it remains unconfirmed that replicators incorporated these as well.

In 2004, Robert Freitas and Ralph Merkle published the first comprehensive review of the field of self-replication, in their book Kinematic Self-Replicating Machines, which includes 3000+ literature references. Merely exploiting the replicative abilities of existing cells is insufficient, because of limitations in the process of protein biosynthesis (also see the listing for RNA).

Tonar, Ellis Talton and Remington. "Space Tech Startups Are The Key To Making Life On Mars Possible". Forbes . Retrieved March 4, 2019. a b HenryQuastler (1964) Emergence of Biological Organization, Yale University Press, New Haven Connecticut ASIN: B0000CMHJ2 Clanking replicator, an artificial self-replicating system that relies on conventional large-scale technology and automation

In 2374, the drink replicator at Quark's experienced a malfunction. To fix it, Quark submitted an emergency maintenance request in the morning, and was assured by Chief Miles O'Brien that Rom would be fixing it right away, however, Rom, in turn, promised Quark that Nog would fix it before the end of the day, however Nog never arrived, but in his place, Jadzia Dax showed up. Quark felt that that task was below her, and fixing a replicator was " work for a mechanic, a repairman, a lowly engineer." Quark later confessed to Odo that, " those hands weren't meant to be poking around inside a filthy drink replicator," as they observed her pulling a green goo from the replicator's insides. ( DS9: " Valiant") Breivik, Jarle (2001). "Self-Organization of Template-Replicating Polymers and the Spontaneous Rise of Genetic Information". Entropy. Entroy. 3 (4): 273–279. Bibcode: 2001Entrp...3..273B. doi: 10.3390/e3040273. Metzger, Philip; Muscatello, Anthony; Mueller, Robert; Mantovani, James (January 2013). "Affordable, Rapid Bootstrapping of the Space Industry and Solar System Civilization". Journal of Aerospace Engineering. 26 (1): 18–29. arXiv: 1612.03238. doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)AS.1943-5525.0000236. S2CID 53336745. In 2015, advances in graphene and silicene suggested that it could form the basis for a neural network with densities comparable to the human brain if integrated with silicon carbide based nanoscale CPUs containing memristors. The idea that life began as clay crystals is 50 years old". bbc.com. 2016-08-24. Archived from the original on 2016-08-24 . Retrieved 2019-11-10.

One form of natural self-replication that isn't based on DNA or RNA occurs in clay crystals. [11] Clay consists of a large number of small crystals, and clay is an environment that promotes crystal growth. Crystals consist of a regular lattice of atoms and are able to grow if e.g. placed in a water solution containing the crystal components; automatically arranging atoms at the crystal boundary into the crystalline form. Crystals may have irregularities where the regular atomic structure is broken, and when crystals grow, these irregularities may propagate, creating a form of self-replication of crystal irregularities. Because these irregularities may affect the probability of a crystal breaking apart to form new crystals, crystals with such irregularities could even be considered to undergo evolutionary development. In 2005, Adrian Bowyer of the University of Bath started the RepRap project to develop a rapid prototyping machine that would be able to replicate itself, making such machines cheap enough for people to buy and use in their homes. The project is releasing material under the GNU GPL. [1] Robert Freitas, William P. Gilbreath, ed. (1982). Advanced Automation for Space Missions. NASA Conference Publication CP-2255 (N83-15348). It is a long-term goal of some engineering sciences to achieve a clanking replicator, a material device that can self-replicate. The usual reason is to achieve a low cost per item while retaining the utility of a manufactured good. Many authorities say that in the limit, the cost of self-replicating items should approach the cost-per-weight of wood or other biological substances, because self-replication avoids the costs of labor, capital and distribution in conventional manufactured goods. Replicator is a Defense Department initiative with a goal to “field attritable autonomous systems at scale of multiple thousands, in multiple domains, within the next 18-to-24 months” and serve as an innovation playbook. The initiative — announced in August — will use “existing funding, existing programming lines and existing authorities to accelerate production and delivery at scale.”One of the advantages of what they’re doing is not only can they then scale through that direction, but they do a lot of experimentation in the technology and then how it’s being used because they’re allowing a lot of freedom among those on the front lines and the developers to try things and figure out what works,” Scharre said. In many programming languages an empty program is legal, and executes without producing errors or other output. The output is thus the same as the source code, so the program is trivially self-reproducing.