Nanorobotics

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Nanorobotics is the technology of creating machines or robots at or close to the microscopic scale of a nanometre (10^-9 metres). More specifically, nanorobotics refers to the still largely hypothetical nanotechnology engineering discipline of designing and building nanorobots. Nanorobots (nanobots, nanoids, nanites or nanonites) would typically be devices ranging in size from 0.1-10 micrometers and constructed of nanoscale or molecular components. As no artificial non-biological nanorobots have yet been created, they remain a hypothetical concept.

Another definition sometimes used is a robot which allows precision interactions with nanoscale objects, or can manipulate with nanoscale resolution. Following this definition even a large apparatus such as an atomic force microscope can be considered a nanorobotic instrument when configured to perform nanomanipulation. Also macroscale robots or microrobots which can move with nanoscale precision can also be considered nanorobots.

Nanomachines are largely in the research-and-development phase, but some primitive molecular machines have been tested. An example is a sensor having a switch approximately 1.5 nanometers across, capable of counting specific molecules in a chemical sample. The first useful applications of nanomachines, if such are ever built, might be in medical technology, where they might be used to identify cancer cells and destroy them. Another potential application is the detection of toxic chemicals, and the measurement of their concentrations, in the environment. Recently, Rice University has demonstrated a single-molecule car which is developed by a chemical process and includes buckyballs for wheels. It is actuated by controlling the environmental temperature and by positioning a scanning tunneling microscope tip.

Contents 1 Nanorobotics theory 2 Nubot 3 Practical Nanorobot 4 Nanobots in fiction 5 Potential applications 6 See also 7 References 8 Bibliography 9 External links

[edit] Nanorobotics theory

Since nanorobots would be microscopic in size, it would probably be necessary for very large numbers of them to work together to perform microscopic and macroscopic tasks. These nanorobot swarms, both those which are incapable of replication (as in utility fog) and those which are capable of unconstrained replication in the natural environment (as in grey goo and its less common variants), are found in many science fiction stories, such as the Borg nanoprobes in Star Trek. The word "nanobot" (also "nanite", "nanogene", or "nanoant") is often used to indicate this fictional context and is an informal or even pejorative term to refer to the engineering concept of nanorobots. The word nanorobot is the correct technical term in the nonfictional context of serious engineering studies.^{[citation needed]}

Some proponents of nanorobotics, in reaction to the grey goo scare scenarios that they earlier helped to propagate, hold the view that nanorobots capable of replication outside of a restricted factory environment do not form a necessary part of a purported productive nanotechnology, and that the process of self-replication, if it were ever to be developed, could be made inherently safe. They further assert that free-foraging replicators are in fact absent from their current plans for developing and using molecular manufacturing. ^{[1] [2]}

In such plans, future medical nanotechnology has been posited to employ nanorobots injected into the patient to perform treatment on a cellular level. Such nanorobots intended for use in medicine are posited to be non-replicating, as replication would needlessly increase device complexity, reduce reliability, and interfere with the medical mission. Instead, medical nanorobots are posited to be manufactured in hypothetical, carefully controlled nanofactories in which nanoscale machines would be solidly integrated into a supposed desktop-scale machine that would build macroscopic products.^{[citation needed]}

The most detailed discussions of nanorobotics, including specific design issues such as sensing, power communication, navigation, manipulation, locomotion, and onboard computation, have been presented in the medical context of nanomedicine by Robert Freitas. Although much of these discussions remain at the level of unbuildable generality and do not approach the level of detailed engineering, the Nanofactory Collaboration^[3], founded by Robert Freitas and Ralph Merkle in 2000, is a focused ongoing effort involving 23 researchers from 10 organizations and 4 countries that is developing a practical research agenda^[4] specifically aimed at developing positionally-controlled diamond mechanosynthesis and a diamondoid nanofactory that would be capable of building diamondoid medical nanorobots.

[edit] Nubot

Nubot is an abbreviation for "Nucleic Acid Robots." Nubots are synthetic robotics devices at the nanoscale. Representative nubots include the several DNA walkers reported by Ned Seeman's group at NYU, Niles Pierce's group at Caltech, John Reif's group at Duke University, Chengde Mao's group at Purdue, and Andrew Turberfield's group at the University of Oxford.

[edit] Practical Nanorobot

The joint use of nanoelectronics, photolithography, and new biomaterials, is a feasible way to enable the required manufacturing technology towards nanorobots for common medical applications, such as for surgical instrumentation, diagnosis and drug delivery.^[5][6][7] Indeed, this feasible approach towards manufacturing on nanotechnology is a practice currently in use from the electronics industry.^[8] So, practical nanorobots should be integrated as nanoelectronics devices, which will allow tele-operation and advanced capabilities for medical instrumentation.^[9][10]

[edit] Nanobots in fiction

Nanobots have been a recurring theme in many science-fiction novels, sci-fi shows and movies, such as the sci-fi show Red Dwarf where they are used to manufacture a new arm for Dave Lister from his excess body tissue. In the popular video game series Metal Gear Solid, many characters and soldiers in general, have "nanomachines" in their bloodstream. They are used as a healing mechanism in the Sony PlayStation series Ratchet and Clank. In the game System Shock 2, "nanites" are used as currency as well as a type of weapon ammo. In the 2008 series of Knight Rider, the Knight Industries Three Thousand has a skin capable of regenerating and rebuilding itself with the help of nanobots. Nanobots were also featured during the Sci-Fi Channel era of Mystery Science Theater 3000, where they were known as "nanites". They were depicted on the show as microscopic, bug-like, freestanding robots with distinct personalities, including a hairdresser and union foreman. In Stargate: Atlantis there is a race of machines called the "Asurans" or "Replicators" whose bodies are entirely built of nanites. The first person shooter Crysis includes a suit that consists of nanorobots, which replenish armor, health, enhance strength, speed and even enable active camouflage. In the cyberpunk game, Deus Ex, the protagonistic Denton family were the only humans who were able to tolerate the "nanites" inside their body. This form of augmentation allowed for the use of multiple powers, as well as create resentment between they and the older generation of agents who would sacrifice entire limbs for the more crude cybernetic enhancements. In the film i, Robot, Nanites are used to wipe out artificial intelligence in the event of a malfunction. They are seen to be used on an NS5 and on VIKI at the end of the film. The nanites themselves are never seen however a liquid containing moving silver objects is seen.

[edit] Potential applications

• Early diagnosis and targeted drug delivery for cancer^[11][12][13]
• Biomedical instrumentation^[14]
• Surgery^[15][16]
• Pharmacokinetics^[17]
• Monitoring of diabetes^[18][19][20]
• Health Care^[21]

[edit] See also

• Bio-nano generator
• Grey Goo
• Nanomorph
• Self-replicating machine

[edit] References

[edit] Bibliography

• K. Eric Drexler, Engines of Creation, ISBN 0-385-19973-2.

[edit] External links

• NanoRobotics Laboratory - EPM
• Carnegie Mellon NanoRobotics Lab
• Molecular Robotics Overview
• Nanorobotics in Medicine, by Freitas
• Medical Nanorobotics
• Nanorobotics Control Simulation - CAN
• Nanorobotics - Info Center ETHZ
• Rice University - NanoCar
• Multi-Scale Robotics Lab - ETH Zurich
• A Review in Nanorobotics - US Department of Energy
• Bio-Nano Robotics - Northeastern University