fbpx

Tag Archive for nanotech

So very very small.

 

“Nanotech” is one of my favorite arenas of emerging science.  Not just because of the science fiction potential, but because it requires a change in the way you think about machines.  It’s not a small change either, it’s like the difference between Physics 101 and Quantum Field Theory.  Really getting whats going on requires a baseline shift.

Programming swarm behaviors is a bit tricky, as I understand it.  Some of the prettiest examples I have seen are the recent forays into quadcopter control, but I have yet to see a truly “swarmy” cluster, they tend to either be orchestrated or smaller groups tasked to learn a behavior or execute an objective (soccerball bots come to mind).

http://www.extremetech.com

Retasking biology

Source: http://www.artofthecell.com/blog

 

It’s one of the great misconceptions, that nanotech will be “machines” as we know them now.  Most likely they will be assembled by clever tricks of chemistry and conscripted biological processes.  That’s not to say that individually assembled mechanical machines are out entirely, but when you are working at a near-molecular level, it will be much more efficient to co-opt existing processes rather than reinventing them.