Life Integrated Technology 4: Nanorobotics - The Next BIG Thing

Technology has broadened its sphere over the past few years. From a gigantic Nuclear Generator to its most diminutive component, technology has registered its presence everywhere. It has indeed lead to humungous and drastic alterations which have completely changed the way we live. Technology for life has been one of the most booming topics for the past decade. Making our lives simpler, longer, better and faster, technology has come a long way. Nanotechnology, a great example of life integrated technology, has seen some of the most pioneering researches in the last decade. One of its most interesting and emerging branches has been that of 'Nanorobotics'. It is the technology of creating machines or robots at or close to the scale of a nanometre (10^-9metres). More specifically, nanorobotics refers to the largely theoretical nanotechnology engineering discipline of designing and building nanorobots. It's one of those technologies which have indeed changed the landscape altogether marking the start of another era all together.

Nanorobots remain in the realm of science fiction, though research and efforts related to small-scale robotics is rigorously undergoing. Nanorobotics permits robots for precisions and interactions of different functions with nano-scale objects. All these robots are operated at nanoscale resolution. Each part and component of a robot, from an infrastructure chip to external body is configured at an atomic scale. Although nanorobotics makes structure of the robot complex but it facilitates the device with extra ordinary intelligence and efficiency. Professor Brad Nelson and his colleagues at The Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems (IRIS) have recently demonstrated three distinct types of nanorobots of progressively smaller size that are wirelessly powered and controlled by magnetic fields. These nano sized robots were fabricated and assembled by tools and processes developed by IRIS researchers. Many of these systems are used for robotic exploration within biological domains.

Properly realized nanorobots will be able to treat a host of diseases and conditions. While their size restricts them to carry very small payloads of medicine or equipment, many doctors and engineers believe the precise application of these tools will be more effective than more traditional methods. For example, a doctor might deliver a powerful antibiotic to a patient through a syringe to help his immune system. The antibiotic becomes weaker and ineffective due to dilution while it travels through the patient's bloodstream,causing only some of it to make to the point of actual infection. However, a nanorobot or a team of nanorobots could travel to the point of actual infection directly and deliver a small dose of medication. The patient would potentially suffer from fewer side effects with the aid of this unique method of medication.

There are three main aspects scientists need to focus on nanorobots -navigation, power and how the nanorobot will move through blood vessels. Nanotechnologists are looking at different options for each of these considerations, each of which has positive and negative impacts. Most options can be divided into one of two categories: external systems and onboard systems. External navigation systems might use a variety of different methods to pilot the nanorobot to the right location. These include Ultrasonic Imaging, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), X-rays, radio waves, microwaves or heat. On the other hand, on board systems include internal chemical sensors or miniature television camera inside the robot. Currently the technology of using these methods on nano-sized objects is limited, so it's much more likely that future systems will rely more on other methods.

Names like Nubot, Nanobots, Nanoids, Nanites, Nanomachines and Ornanomites have also been used to describe nanorobots currently under research and development. Nubot is an abbreviation for "nucleic acid robot." Nubots are organic molecular machines at the nanoscale. Several engineers, scientists and doctors believe that nanorobot applications are practically unlimited. Some of the most likely medical uses include: Treating arteriosclerosis, breaking up blood clots, fighting cancer, helping the body clot, Parasite Removal, Gout, breaking up kidney stones, cleaning wounds.

Nanorobots have wide applications even in other fields of science and technology apart from medicine. With the assistance of this diverse technology, world is now able to see and utilize the instruments which were never seen before. Atomic scope microscope is one of the instrument which could be considered as nanorobotic instrument. It is configured and manipulated at nanoscale. Another useful application is the detection of toxic chemicals and the measurement of concentrated substances in the environment. These detectors will be very useful and beneficial for the chemists in order to manage and reduce the toxicity of chemicals. Recently, another demonstration of nanorobotics is the single molecule car which has nano infrastructure. This car is developed by chemical process and have buckyball wheels. It is configured by controlling the temperature in the air and also by positioning the scanning tunnel microscope.

           

Teams around the world are working on creating the first practical medical nanorobot. Robots ranging from a millimetre in diameter to a relatively hefty two centimetres long already exist, though they are all still in the testing phase of development and haven't been used on people.

In the future, nanorobots could revolutionize medicine. Doctors could treat everything from heart disease to cancer using tiny robots much smaller than today's robots. Robots might work alone or in teams to eradicate disease and treat other conditions. Some believe that semi-autonomous nanorobots are right around the corner. Doctors would implant robots which would be able to patrol a human's body, reacting to any problems that pop up. Unlike acute treatment, these robots would stay in the patient's body forever.

Will we one day have thousands of microscopic robots rushing around in our veins, making corrections and healing our cuts, bruises and illnesses? With nanorobotics, it seems like anything is possible.Imagination has certainly no bounds or restrictions. Life integrated technology is going to scale different heights all together. The day isn't far away when we would be able to truly live up to the truth of the famous maxim "Impossible is nothing".

Salil Kanetkar