Presentation
“Current State of the Art Nanorobotics”

 Ryan Oswald (4 th year MEng Software Engineering)
 Andrew Sharp (4 th year MEng Computing &
Electronics)
 Elliot Hunter (4 th year MEng Computing &
Electronics)

 Ryan - Military uses of Nanorobotic technology.
 Elliot - Medical uses of Nanobots, Nano technology.
 Andrew - Industrial uses of Nanorobotics.

 Drug Delivery – Targeted delivery system. 130 applications in progess
(2006)
 Implantable Devices – Improvements to cochlear and retinal implants
 Surgical Tools – Obtain previously unattainable levels of accuracy through programmed robots. Internal bloodless surgery a possibility
 Genetic Testing – Much faster testing of underlying and genetic conditions.

 Hormones
 Scientists are currently working on nanorobots that monitor and regulate the blood sugar levels of patients with diabetes by injecting insulin into the bloodstream automatically when required 1 .
 However, nanorobots could also be programmed to traverse the human body and stimulate or inhibit hormone production in the endocrine system:
•
Leptin

 increases the rate of metabolism; decreases one’s appetite.
•
Progesterone & Oestrogen
 prevent ovulation.

 As we have seen nanorobots could potentially be programmed to monitor and regulate the production of hormones within the human body. So why not apply this same theory in military applications?
R.O.
 Soldiers could be injected with nanobots before entering the battlefield that could
“monitor the medical and stress status of a soldier, releasing therapeutic drugs, hormones, etc.” 2 :
•
Benzedrine
 increases alertness; decreases fatigue;
•
Nootropics
 increases cognition and motivation;
 increases attention and concentration.
•
Adrenalin
 control heart rate and breathing
• Vitamins, Minerals, Sugars and other nutrients…
6

The future is certainly bright when it comes to medicine.
 2008: Nano-agents for analysis inside cells
 2013: Nanotools for manipulation inside cells
 2015: Self-repairing in artificial systems
 2018: In vitro construction of human organs
 2021: Nanomachines inside the body
 Cell Repair: Instead of surgery, which can only encourage healing.
 Future? Nanobots will be able to repair our cells for us.

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Chemical Engineering
Control Runaway Reactions

Oil spills
Break down hydrocarbons

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Atmospheric Regeneration
Break down CO
2
Regenerate Ozone
8

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Ecophagy
“Grey Goo” Scenario

Human Health
Side Effects
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Moral & Ethical
Use as a weapon
Over-reliance
9

Questions?