The Future of Programmable Nanotechnology
More and more, we are able to exploit the advantages of the latest technology to allow our businesses to be more productive, and our society more connected. In recent years, AI (artificial intelligence) has been one of the main focal points for engineers and computer scientists as it becomes increasingly more powerful, and more popular in manufacturing.
During the industrial revolution, workers were made to operate large, mechanical (and often dangerous) apparatus; in modern times, many industries use complicated and expensive robots to manufacture their products and with schemes like Siemen’s “Solutions for Robotics”, it is easier than ever before to integrate robots into industry.
One downside to building robots is the difficulty in constructing them; motors, actuators, batteries and limbs have to be carefully crafted into a state-of-the-art robot. Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology have taken a whole new approach to the fundamental design of a robot, however. Using 3D-printers, these scientists have created a robophysical structure of “smart active particles” — or smarticles, for short.
Smarticles are small, simple robots with just two arms, which kick against each other in a large group of smarticles — the researchers have coined this a “supersmarticle”. By adding light or sound sensors, the supersmarticle can react to stimulus as it is able to move by itself.
Dunn Goldman, a physics professor in the Georgia Institute of Technology, explained the collaborative nature of the smarticles and how they’re able to work together as part of a supersmarticle to react to stimuli. “Even though no individual robot could move on its own, the cloud composed of multiple robots could move as it pushed itself apart and shrink as it pulled itself together. If you put a ring around the cloud of little robots, they start kicking each other around, and the larger ring — what we call a supersmarticle — moves around randomly.”
In theory, the idea of smarticles is like an enlarged version of nanobots, which are currently science fiction; microscopic robots which act with a hive-mind. Goldman also explained that if we want to shrink the technology to this scale, “we’ll have to use mechanics and physics principles to control them because they won’t have the level of computation and sensing we would need for conventional control.” This makes sense: the smaller the robots are, the less computing power they can house.
If the research is expanded upon, it could be introduced into industry to revolutionise the robotics industry, as for the first time in history, robots could be able to change their shape and function by simply modifying small aspects of the smarticles’ programming. If nanotechnology became available, then it would open up an infinite array of opportunities for new, life-changing ideas and creations.
Nanobots could be used in medicine to carry out specific, programmable tasks; for example, they could be used to monitor a person’s vital signs, which doctors could use to get a more accurate diagnosis. They could also monitor post-surgery recovery and send electronic signals to control organs.
The potential of programmable nanotechnology is endless, and it all stems from researchers such as Professor Goldman and his team at the Georgia Institute of Technology. As we learn more and more about the capabilities of the technologies at our disposal, engineers can re-invent, build upon and innovate to create a sustainable future and have a positive impact on not only industry, but the world as a whole.
Sources:
https://blog.robotiq.com/10-key-statistics-about-robotics-you-need-to-know
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/09/190918140759.htm
https://m.phys.org/news/2016-03-ways-nanotechnology-future.html
