Nanorobotics Design, Assembly, and Role in Medicine

Two main areas have been identified in nanorobotics. The first is the design and simulation of nanodevices, based largely on aspects of macro-scale robots including power, communication, and navigation. The second, which has had more work done in it, involves the assembly of nanorobots through self-assembly or manipulation at the nanoscale. Techniques for this include the already proven use of microscopy equipment for manipulation. Current design of nanorobots is based on those already existing in biological systems. As such, the majority of applications in this area are being directed towards medicine. Here, nanotechnology promises advantages such as versatility, superior building materials, and reliability. Background and Introduction: The emerging field of nanorobotics deals with both the design of nano-scale machines and the controlled manipulation of nano-sized objects. Work in this area is still largely theoretical, and no artificial non-biological nanorobots have yet been built. Medical technology will be the first application to reap the benefits of nanorobot applications. As such, a majority of the nanorobots currently being developed are designed to perform specific tasks at the molecular level. These may include molecular manufacturing of circuits, machines, and devices as well as self-replication to replace