Nanorobotics

Catalog description

Nanorobotics is a field at the forefront of nano-science and engineering that seeks to create synthetic systems that sense and respond to their environment at dimensions comparable to biological microorganisms. This course explores the topic of small machines: What materials should we use to make these devices? How should they be powered or locomote? What capacities can they have for memory or information processing? How can they be made to interface safely with biological systems? This course covers the major frameworks for building small machines, including self-assembled systems (DNA nanotechnology, biohacking) and those fabricated by top-down lithography (self-folding systems, synthetic micro-swimmers, smart-dust). Particular emphasis is given to exploring physical principles that can be used to analyze the strengths and limitations of current robot designs at the micro and nanoscale.