Well we've heard about 3D printers before, but an open source, self replicating 3D printer sounds like just what we need.

The guys at http://reprap.org/ have done just that, created an open source 3D printer that can print a good portion of the parts required to make one.

To call it replicating is a bit of a stretch, but it's a start. Once it can build an entire machine, only then am I happy to give it replication status.