The bottleneck in desktop microfactories

In the last years a new technology was invented, called MEMS. MEMS stands for ultrasmall motors and nanofactories in the size of a table. A well known consumer product which is using ultrasmall motors is a DLP projector which contains 2 million magnetic actuators for controlling the mirros. From a mechanical standpoint, MEMS technology is available at mass scale and for a small price. It is possible to print an array of motors and sensors.

The bottleneck isn't located in the hardware side but has to do with controlling of the motors. Suppose there is factory which contains of unlimited amount of working cells, transport systems and assembly stations. Each of the units contains of 30 degree of freedoms. A mechanical test will show, that the factory is working great. After pressing a switch, the motor drives in the correct position. The problem is, that without a control program the MEMS factory is useless. It is same situation that somebody creates in a mechanical simulator a robot but he doesn't know what the correct program for the robot is.

In contrast to larger mechanical systems, for examples a real factory or a car, it's not possible to control a nanofactory with human intervention. Somebody may argue, that this is not a problem, because the software is doing the same like a printer driver. The software sends a signal to the motors and then the factory is working. Unfortunately this kind of software is very hard to program. The problem is equal to controlling a real time strategy game. The difference is, that a microfactory is much more complex than a Starcraft AI Simulation.

The good news is, that the bottleneck can be localized precisely. It's not the MEMS hardware itself, which makes trouble, but the missing software for controlling million of servo motors in a game environment. The problem is solved, if algorithms are available which are able to play real time strategy games which are very complex. That means, the player has to direct many hundred units at the same time to fulfill a certain task. From the computer science perspective, it's not clear which kind of software is needed here. The only thing what is known is, that some kind of Narrow AI has to solve the task. That means, the Narrow AI gets the sensor readings as input and produces the control signals as output. But what is in the software is an open problem.

Let us go back to the MEMS array from a DLP projector. Such a device is sold for under 10 US$ in electronics store. The user gets in exchange for the money a huge number of motors which can be adjusted individually. In the task for mirror the light in the red green blue colors it's obvious what the advantage is. But it's not possible to use these motors for anything else. Not because of the hardware, which is great. The problem is, that before the motors can work together they need an input signal. And this input signal has to be determined by an algorithm. For testing reasons, it's possible to send a random signal to the motors. The problem is, that they won't produce any useful with it. It's the same situation if a programmer tires to control a line following robot with a random generator. It won't work. The robot won't do what he should. If the number of servo motors is higher, the problem will become more complicated. At the end, the programmer sitts before hundred of servo motors which are working technically great, but the overall robotics project failed.

To understand the problem in detail, we have to focus on a much smaller problem. Suppose an hardware engineered has built a mini robot with only 2 servo motors. One is mounted on the left side, the other on the right side. On the first look, the robotics project is done. It looks great. Surprisingly, the robot can't do anything. Creating the software on top is not a detail problem, but it's the only problem which is available. That means, wiring the motors together and use electric current is the easiest part of the game. It will take less then 5 minute in doing so. Writing the software to move the robot on a straight line is the harder part, which will take 20 years and longer and in most cases it fails.

It's some kind of paradox. On the one hand, the engineers have developed advanced hardware. They are able to build robots in the size of 10 centimeter, 10 millimeter and even 10 micrometer. They can use as material normal metal, but it's also possible to build robots out of wood. What is missing is the part which is not visible, it's the software, better known as Narrow AI. The missing software is the reason, why MEMS nanofactories are not available.

Nanomedicine for beginners

The topic of nanotechnology and Nanomedicine is an interesting subject which is hard to understand by newbies. The published blogs and books are either pure speculation or they are containing lots of expert vocabularies. Instead of explaining what Nanotechnology is, the more interesting question is how to reduce the entry barrier to a level that anyone can understand it.

What i have learned from a first survey is, that nanotechnology means basically to build a 3d printer farm which is able to replicate itself. Some youtube videos about 3d printing farms are available. In most cases, it's a shelf of 4-8 printers who are working at the same time. If the printer was programmed to build parts for a new 3d printer, the setup is able to grow quickly. From the abstract perspective the printing farms asks for electricity, filament and and human worker and in exchange it produces physical objects.

In case of a molecular assembler the idea is to replace human work with robots, that means the 3d printing farm will become fully autonomously and doesn't need human intervention anymore. This allows, in theory, to build a structure similar to what the Star trek replicator is capable of.

Bob and Alice are building Nanorobots with a special power supply

Alice: [is using a modem dialup connection]

Bob: [has a preinstalled UNIX operating system]

Alice: Connection established ...

Bob: Hi Alice, what's going on?

Alice: Everything is fine.

Bob: ...

Alice: I only wanna say hello.

Bob: No you don't. I've read your message in the bulletin board system ...

Alice: You mean the message with the biomedical announcement?

Bob: No, the posting with the basketball results ;-) Hey come on ...

Alice: ... ok my problem is simple. The nanobots are not working. And i have absolutely no idea why.

Bob: Now we going into the right direction.

Alice hm.

Bob: You're nanobots have problems with the energy, right?

Alice: That's true. The onboard generator isn't working with maximum productivity.

Bob: I've read the specs, it is using radioactivity?

Alice: What else?

Bob: I only want to play it safe ...

Alice: Something is wrong with the decay rate.

Bob: Do you have asked the Doctor for help?

Alice: No I don't trust him anymore.

Bob: ???

Alice: It is possible that he is no longer on our side.

Bob: No, I'm sure we can trust him.

Alice: Why?

Bob: Because he has invented the docking maneuver in Nanotechnology.

Alice: yeah, but his knowledge about “liquid drive” is low. And he is working for the other side.

Bob: You mean, he is part of a much broader conspiracy?

Alice: I'm talking about non-proofen failures in the last year. For example the energy loss under 20 degree temperature.

Bob: That would explain something. Perhaps we can agree that we need further investigations?

Alice: Sure.

Bob: I've got on the other line a critical request.

Alice: Ok, let us continue the chat in the next week.

Bob: You're welcome. Bye.

Alice: Bye.

What is realistic with medical robots?

In sci-fi fantasy novels like Star Trek, nanorobots are sometimes presented as a tool for healing people. It is hard for the normal audience to say, if this technology is realistic or not. Will such nanobots ever become realistic, and if so in 10 years, 100 years or 500 years?

Giving an answer is not so complicated as it looks like. At first let us describe something which is in the near future possible, or even today. A step into modern medicine wouldn't start directly with Nanorobots, but with household robots which are helping elderly people. The classical example which is available since many decades is a simple electric wheelchair which allows people to make a ride, even their legs a no longer working. A more advanced form of such a tool would a walking robot, which travels together with the patient. Such a device was shown in the hollywood movie “I, robot (2004)” which is bringing the inhaler to an old lady, but the same sort of technology can be seen in the series “Real humans” in which a household robot is making the lasagna for an older guy. My prediction is, that such helping robots will become commercial available in the next 20 years, perhaps earlier. But from a technical point of view, such technology is realistic and it will improve the situation a little bit.

Nanorobots are a more difficult to evaluate. Right now, there is research ongoing in the direction of DNA Nanorobots. That are machines, not build with metal, but out of DNA and they are tested, if they can repair a body from the inside and measure information. The promise is, that such technology can really improve the medical condition of people and extend the lifespan. But, it is hard to say, if and when a dna nanorobot became realistic. As far as i know, it is mainly a research project without an application. The researcher are working in that direction, because they hope that one day, they will become successful. DNA Nanorobots can be called the most advanced form of robotics, because they are not simply a mechanical tool like an autonomous car or an automatic wheelchair, but the idea is bring medicine forward.

As a summary, we can say that today well known medical devices like an electronic wheelchair is a product, which is available. WIth a horizon of 20 years, walking robot which can help elderly people will become available and beyond this horizon DNA nanorobots are an option for further development.