2015 December 24, Jan Smith, Julie Rattray, Tai Peseta, Daphne Loads, Identity Work in the Contemporary University: Exploring an Uneasy Profession[1], illustrated edition, volume 1, Springer, →ISBN, page 8:
Becoming a ‘trajectoid’9 – the ‘object’ that follows a trajectory determined by a combination of its physical properties and the impetus applied to it by some other mechanism – is not a satisfactory summary of the human achievement that arises from our educational experiences.
2023 August 9, Lindsay Clark, “Researchers discover algorithm to create shapes that roll down pre-determined paths”, in The Register[2], archived from the original on March 7, 2024:
The resulting objects, which they call "trajectoids," could have applications in understanding quantum mechanics and helping improve magnetic medical imaging. "Our study is motivated largely by fundamental curiosity, but the existence of trajectoids for most paths has unexpected implications," their research paper, published in the journal Nature today, said.
2023 August 10, Alex Wilkins, “Wonky shapes can be made to roll along a specific path of your choice”, in New Scientist[3], archived from the original on February 3, 2024:
Wonky spheres can be sculpted to roll eternally downhill along any possible path, as long as the path repeats. These “trajectoids” could be used to design robots that follow particular routes, or to model how the spin of quantum computer bits, called qubits, will change over time.
2023 August 14, Hamish Johnston, “Shapes are programmed to roll along specific downhill paths”, in Physics World[4], archived from the original on August 29, 2023:
The team showed that a potential trajectoid can be described by a virtual exercise that involves drawing a periodic trajectory on a flat surface. Then, a sphere is rolled over the surface such that the line is transferred to the surface of the sphere. If the start of the trajectory matches up with the end of the trajectory – thereby creating a continuous loop on the surface of the sphere – then it should be possible to create a trajectoid that follows that route. The team also found that when trajectories do not match up, they can be tweaked to do so.
For a trajectoid to exist, there are a few rules about what it should look like. For one, the center of gravity cannot move around a lot during the roll, necessitating a heavy center and little bumps and depressions on the trajectoid’s surface. The slope couldn’t be too steep, as slipping dominates rolling motion at greater inclines.
2023 October 19, Darren Orf, “Scientists Figured Out How to Design Dice to Roll Any Way You Want”, in Popular Mechanics[6], archived from the original on March 1, 2024:
Scientist Yaroslav Sobolev at the Institute for Basic Science in Ulsan, South Korea—along with his colleagues—have designed an algorithm that creates wonky-shaped objects called “trajectoids” that mathematically travel along any set path. The results of the study were recently published in the journal Nature.
