Definition — What is Nanorobotics?

The term Nanorobotics is also known as Nanomachines or Nanobots. It is the study of robotics at the nanometer scale and includes robots that are nanoscale in size and large robots capable of manipulating objects that have dimensions in the nanoscale range with nanometer resolution. Nanorobotic devices are anticipated to be among the most powerful tools ever created by humans. These technological devices range in size from 0.1 to 10 micrometers (usually about the width of a strand of a human hair). The main goals of Nanorobotics are to provide effective tools for the experimental exploration of the nanoworld and to push the boundaries of this exploration from robotics research. In fact, Within our bodies, there are countless Nanorobots working in every action to keep our bodies functioning properly. However, we do not refer to these biologic entities as Nanorobots, but as cellular components that are responsible for DNA replication. Nanorobot is an excellent tool for future medicine. According to some futurists, in the next 10 or so years you could get injected with billions of these Nanorobots that would float around in your body. Nanorobots could carry and deliver drugs into defective cells. They will have the potential to fight against major diseases like cancer, HIV, etc.

Nanorobotics traces back its roots to physicist Richard Feynman and his famous speech in 1959, “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom”. In the speech, Feynman predicted the development of machines that could be miniaturized and huge amounts of information being encoded in minuscule spaces. However, it was K. Eric Drexler’s 1986 book, “Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology”, which galvanized Nanorobotics. Nanorobotics is one of the fastest-growing technological fields, worth over 1 trillion USD, and it’s forecast to grow by approximately 17% over the next half-decade.