Name: Arminder-Singh

UID: 3035576656

Robots Term Essay

According to the United States National Nanotechnology Initiative’s website “Nanotechnology is

science, engineering, and technology conducted at the nanoscale, which is about 1 to 100
nanometres.” Which means that nanotechnology is simply invisible to the naked eye in general. In its
current development stages, nanotech is still a maturing technology, yet it can greatly shape human
life as we know it in the future. To support this claim, this essay will first talk about the advent of
nanotechnology and the while talking about the people who progressed the technology. Then it will
move along to talk about the applications of nanobots in modern society and its possible usages in
the coming future. Finally, it will discuss the impacts nanorobots will have on human life in the years
to come and conclude by mentioning how nanorobots will become a significant part of our lives in
the next 10-20 years.

As aforementioned nanorobotics is still a maturing technology. However, the mention of

nanorobotics was made long before the actual invention. One of the first most prominent mention
of nanorobotics was made by Mr. Richard Feynman, an American Physicist in 1959 (Smallwood,
2009). He gave a talk at an American physical society meeting. The name of the lecture was titled
“There’s plenty of room at the bottom “. Although at that time the technology had not been
invented, Mr. Feynman provided inspiration to many at the talk, paving the development for
nanotechnology. The starting usage of the term “nanotechnology” was in 1974 when professor
Norio Taniguchi devised the term to describe semiconductor processes according to the NNI
website. The starting invention for nanotechnology was the scanning tunnelling microscope (STM)
made by Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer in 1981. Their invention also earned them a Nobel Prize in
Physics The microscope, according to Nanoscience, works by using an extremely sharp tip that is
made of metal. An electric voltage is given to the surface or the object and brought very close to the
object. After that we can see individual atoms. 5 years later the invention of the STM, the Atomic
Force microscope was invented by Gerd Binnig, Calvin Quate, and Christoph Gerber. This microscope
had the ability to see, amount, and work on samples to sizes of nanometres, while also being able to
measure different objects related to nanomaterials. These starting inventions were one of the most
notable which aided in the development of nanotech and gave way to future invention that
advanced nanotech further.

Following the emergence of nanotech in the 1970s to 1990, companies relating to nanotech started
being set up after the 1990s. These companies such as Nanophase Technologies, Nano-Tex, Zyvex,
started implementing nanotech into consumer products in the early 2000s. These products include,
cars bumpers that were made to be more scratch resistant, golf balls that were able to go at a
straighter angle, tennis rackets that were made more firm, sunscreens, and overhauled displays for
televisions, mobile phones and digital cameras. The usage of nanotechlogy can be limitless and can
help us to live a better life while also giving us more comfort. As nanotech became started its growth
right after the start of a millennium. Countries started to put more resources development
nanotech. Former U.S. president Bill Clinton set up the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) to
allocate more Research and development into nanotechnology and to increase the competitiveness
of U.S. in nanotechnology. The congress then funded the NNI firstly in 2001. Now, the national
nanotech initiative receives more than 1.4 billion dollars from the 2019 federal budget. Which shows
that nanotech will soon be developed at a much larger scale than before as countries are starting to
realise the hidden potential of nanotech.

Nanobots have received much attention from the Hollywood movie industry, one of the most iconic
movies involving the use of nanotechnology in the past was a movie called Fantastic Voyage. The
movie plot is set around saving a scientist’s life who has a blood clot in his brain, the scientist’s
colleague enters a submarine which is then miniaturized and injected into the scientist’s body.
Ultimately, despite encountering some obstacles, they end up saving his life by operating on the clot.
Although this was solely Science Fiction, the fiction part maybe soon to be left out following the
development of nanotech. Lately, many of the research involving nanorobotics are greatly related to
medical causes. One of the main focuses of nanotechnology has been revolving around cancer.
According to the American Cancer society, Man have a nearly 40 percent chance that they can
develop cancer in the course of their lifetime, while the risk of woman is at a slightly lesser chance.
(Crow, 2018). It is hard to determine whether cancer rates would decline or rise in the coming
decades, but one thing is sure that nanotech can help patients in the long arduous fight of cancer.
Recently scientists have successfully tested out the use of minute, nanometre-sized robots to treat
cancerous tumours in mice. Traditional drugs for treating cancer work by decreasing or halting the
progression of cancer cells. But there are many obstacles at this stage already, the drug needs to
reach the infected cancer cells which may be anywhere inside the boy, the lungs, liver or even the
stomach, on top of that the drug needs to prevent damage to the healthy cells of the body (Torgan,
2016). There are many implications of using traditional drugs, but nanotechnology can be used to
directly be delivered to cancerous cells. In the end, the use of nanotech in cancer treatment
resulting in longer lifespan of laboratory mice and smaller and fewer tumours. With the correct use
of nanotechnology, cancer could very well be a thing of the past in the future. Instead of resorting to
long and painful chemotherapy, patients could simply inject a nanobot injection which could kill or
shrink the tumour in a mere matter of seconds.

Another use of nanotech in the medical sector is to create a bot acting as a type of 24- hour non-
stop bodyguard in the human body, currently in our body, white blood cells take up the bodyguard
role by protecting the body against infections and diseases. But there could very well be an
advanced type of white blood cells made by nanotech. White blood cells work by destroying any
infections or viruses it sees in the human body, A similar type of nanotech could very well be
developed in the future years. One of the potential devices is a kind of all in one nanotech guard. A
small bot could be programmed with all viruses, infections and diseases ever known to the human
kind and then it can be inserted into the human body playing the role of an anti-virus. As it is in the
body, it would circulate the body endlessly and try to find any signatures of threats from its
databases. Once it finds out there are potential diseases or threats, it can simply send an alert
through your mobile phone warning your before further harm is caused. At this time, the person can
immediately seek medical attention long before the threat brings along severe damages. A more
advanced type of nanotech could even eliminate the disease by itself, constantly on guard protecting
the human body. People would no longer need a doctor for small kinds of diseases or flus and
doctors would only be required for extreme medical emergencies. Hence, these kinds of technology
could not only increase the lifespan of the average human, but it can also help in living a more
disease-free life. People dying of Flu or fever could be a thing of the past with the help of this
technology.

Nanobots can also play a great part in weaponry. Not long ago, In the Avengers Infinity war movie,
people were introduced to the new nanotech Armor made by Tony Stark, the billionaire inventor.
The suit, with the help of thousands of small nanotech robots could become an impeccable weapon
capable to go head to head with any foe. Although Fictional, the suit made by Mr. Stark also makes
us question about the developments of nanotechnology in the weapons sector. Currently countries
worldwide such Russia and China, are forking out more than a billion dollars yearly to develop Nano
weapons (A. Del Monte , 2017 ). Any news on Nano weapons remains obscured from the general
public, but there have been much speculations regarding the use of Nano- weaponry in
assassinations happening over the years. The true development of nanotech in military aspect has
been kept strictly secret by the military. Yet, one if the technology already being made is the
unmanned drone. Taking inspiration from real insects and bids, a dragonfly type drone is already
made. (Jackson, 2017). This dragonfly has its own solar power batteries and can go on for days.
Although this is just a working example of nanotech drones, The US military might already have
developed nanotech drones far advanced than the dragonfly. These drones created could be made
to be indistinguishable from normal insects or flies. They could help the military for a variety of
tasks, for example the small insect like drone could be used to spy upon enemies while being
undetected. Owing to its small size, the drone with implements nanotech could reach into places no
human could ever reach. Such as narrow tunnels or enemy headquarters. However, besides using for
surveillance purposes these small little drones could also be made to bring death and destruction. As
they can be programmed easily, anyone who can get their hands on these nanobots could do
whatever they want. An example of this would be to contaminate the water supply of a city. Simply
by pressing a few buttons from a controller, the small drone could be able to secrete biological
weapons that could affect the water supply and causing the death of millions. Also, a nanobot could
be programmed to be a perfect biological weapon. A fast spreading airborne virus could be made to
be contained in a nanobot. The bot could then be programmed to unleash the virus at any country
or small village, easily wiping out the people residing in the vicinity of the toxic attack. As seen, there
are both good side and bad usages of nanotech in the future. But they must have to be handled with
great care and only be used by a responsible country or people.

In the future, surely another variation of the Tony Starks suit can be created which can greatly help
the military. The suit in the movie used thousand of small robots which could transform to any shape
and shape depending on their numbers. An Armor like that could also be made in the next 20 years
as nanotech develops rapidly. The usages of the suit could very well be limitless. But it would benefit
the military the most again. The suit in the movie was a highly advanced model, it would take us 50
or 60 more years to perfect the technology. But simple version of the suit can very well be made.
Such as a bulletproof nanotech Armor. When the Armor would be hit by any bullet, the suit will then
send additional nanobots to the damaged area to protect the area hit again. This would create a
bulletproof vest that could fully protect the person and capable of protecting a person’s head.
Nanotechnology will undoubtedly play an important part of our lives in the next coming decades, as
more and more countries start to realize the importance of this technology, the progression of
nanotech will increase exponentially. However, the development of nanotech must be overseen very
carefully as there are 2 sides of nanotech, the side which can be of great help to humanity, or which
can be responsible for the deaths of many if used careless and recklessly. The technology will
certainly be made available to many more in the future and in different faces. It might even become
the new Smartphones of the future as more and more people will get to know and experience
nanotech.
References
United states National Nanotech Initiative. What it is and How It Works. Retrieved from
https://www.nano.gov/nanotech-101/what
Smallwood, C. (2009, Nov 2). 50 Years Later, Still Plenty of Room at the Bottom. Retrieved
from https://ww2.kqed.org/quest/2009/11/02/50-years-later-still-plenty-of-room-at-the-
bottom/.
United states National Nanotech Initiative. Nanotechnology Timeline. Retrieved from
https://www.nano.gov/timeline.
Nanoscience Instruments. Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy. Retrieved from
https://www.nanoscience.com/techniques/scanning-tunneling-microscopy/.
A. Del Monte, L. (2017, July 6). Will the United States Use Nano weapons to Resolve the
North Korean Issue?. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/will-the-united-states-use-nanoweapons-to-
resolve-the_us_595d50ebe4b08f5c97d066c0.
Torgan, C. (2016, March 22). Injectable nanoparticles deliver cancer therapy in mice.
National Institutes of Health. Retrieved from https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-
research-matters/injectable-nanoparticles-deliver-cancer-therapy-mice

Crow, S. (2018, January 2). This Is How Likely You Are to Get Cancer in Your Lifetime.
MSM. Retrieved From https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/this-is-how-likely-you-
are-to-get-cancer-in-your-lifetime/ar-BBIyPSd

Jackson, R. (2017, July 20). Small is beautiful: Nano drone tech is advancing. Defence IQ.
Retrieved From https://www.defenceiq.com/defence-technology/articles/nano-drone-tech-is-
advancing