NIRT: Nanorobotics

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This research project is funded in response to the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Initiative, NSF 01-157, category NIRT. Nanorobotics is concerned with (1) manipulation of nanoscale objects by using micro or macro devices, and (2) construction, control and programming of robots with overall dimensions at the nanoscale (or with microscopic dimensions but nanoscopic components). This project covers both of these aspects, because both are important: nanomanipulation is the most effective process developed until now for prototyping of nanosystems, and nanorobots with dimensions comparable to those of biological cells are expected to have revolutionary applications in environmental monitoring and health care-for example, in the early detection and destruction of pathogens. The initial research will be biased towards manipulation, with a focus on the automation of techniques developed in previous NSF grants for reliable and accurate nanomanipulation by using the tip of a Scanning Probe Microscope (SPM) as a sensory robot. Work on nanorobot construction will begin at a low level but increase as the project evolves. It will integrate research on sensors, actuators, control, power, communications, and interfacing across spatial scales and between organic/inorganic as well as biotic/abiotic systems. The theoretical and experimental results of this work will contribute to the understanding of robotics in domains with large spatial uncertainties, and to the development of NEMS (Nanoelectromechanical Systems). The software will be widely distributed and will be very useful to scientists and engineers working in nanomanipulation and nanolithography. The project will involve students at all levels, from postdocs to minority high-school students, who will be exposed to this new and interdisciplinary field. The research will be further coupled to education through conference tutorials and new, regular university courses. For example, a graduate course in nanorobotics offered in the Spring semester of 2002 will evolve by incorporating the research findings of the project, and a tutorial based on the course will be offered at the 2002 IEEE conference on nanotechnology.