CS 549 NANOROBOTICS
Spring 2011
October 28, 2010
Nanoelectromechanical Systems (NEMS) are the new frontier in miniaturization, beyond MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems), which are now a multi-billion dollar industry. Nanometer-scale devices have dimensions comparable to the atoms and molecules that make up all matter, living or inanimate. Control over the structure of matter at the atomic or molecular scale will trigger a major revolution in human-made artifacts. For example, applications such as artificial cells or cell repair robots will become possible. Nanorobots are a specific type of NEMS, and raise all the major issues that arise in NEMS design and implementation. Nanorobotics is currently one of the major cutting-edge areas in the overall robotics field and is developing rapidly. NEMS is a fundamental technology needed in the physically-embedded, massively distributed systems that are expected to replace (or at least supplement) the world wide web in the future. The Nanorobotics Manifesto, written in the late 1990s, provides additional information and motivation.
This course focuses on nanorobotics, which we define as: (i) programmable assembly of nanoscale components either by manipulation with SPMs (Scanning Probe Microscopes) or other robotic devices, or by directed self-assembly; (ii) design and fabrication of robots with overall dimensions at or below the micrometer range and made of nanoscopic components; and (iii) programming and coordination of large numbers of such nanorobots.
The course has three parts, of approximately equal sizes. The first addresses programming issues. Nanorobots are likely to be very simple (at least initially) and of limited capabilities. A single nanorobot may not be able to do much, but a large number of them can have a significant effect and tackle complicated tasks. How are such “swarms” of robots to be controlled and programmed? This is an area of work that is related to distributed robotics; Artificial Life (AL); emergent and complex systems; and cellular automata, to name a few. The inspiration for much of this work comes from Biology. We look at some of the robotics literature and also at some of the biological systems that provide examples of swarm intelligence.
The second part discusses a promising approach to building NEMS (including nanorobots) prototypes, which involves the use of SPMs as robot manipulators to assemble molecular-sized components. SPMs serve both as sensors and manipulators with atomic or molecular resolution. We focus on Atomic Force Microscopes (AFMs) and address such issues as programming for manipulation, and how to deal with spatial uncertainties that arise from thermal drift, actuator creep and hysteresis, and so on.
Finally, the third part deals with the construction of nanorobotic hardware. We discuss sensors, actuators, controllers, power, communications, and interfaces. This area is still in its initial stages, but components are beginning to appear in the labs. As a guiding conceptual project we study what it would take to build a (non-reproducing) artificial bacterium capable of moving in a liquid in response to sensory stimuli.
Students are expected to gain in this course an understanding of the state of the art in nanorobotics. Nanorobotics is inherently interdisciplinary, and the course is open to students in any natural science or engineering field. Each student is expected to delve in depth into those topics that are appropriate to her or his background, and also to understand at a more superficial level the relevant contributions from other areas. For example, CS students should become proficient in programming and coordination issues discussed in the course.
Time: Mondays and Wednesdays, 2:00 – 3:20 p.m.
Room: KAP 137
Instructor: Prof. Aristides A. G. Requicha, SAL 202, requicha@usc.edu
Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m – 12:00 noon
TA: TBD. Office hours: TBD.
Prerequisites: Graduate standing in any science or engineering discipline. Knowledge of (macro) robotics useful, but not required.
Text: None. Readings from the recent literature. A few references are listed below, and a complete list will be supplied in class. The papers covered in the class presentations are listed in the Course Organization page, and a few hard-to-get papers are linked to that page. Most journal papers are available on the web at the journals’ sites. To access journal sites at no cost you will need either (1) to be in a USC machine; (2) to login through VPN; or (3) to use a “library proxy” machine — click here for more information. I have asked the Seaver Science library to put all the books in the reference list on reserve on 2 or 3 hours loan.
Approach: Lectures, discussions, and student presentations.
Assignments: There will be a midterm exam just before Spring break, on March 9. A second midterm may be scheduled but is unlikely. In addition to the exam(s), grades will be based on the students’ contributions to class presentations and discussions, and on either a project or a term paper. Typical term papers will provide a critical literature review of subjects not covered in class but related to the course material, or propose research directions (which might lead to these). Students who prefer hands-on projects can work on such topics as the simulation of robot swarms, or do anything else that is course-related. These projects are typically harder to do than term papers, but students also tend to learn more by doing a project than a paper. All projects and term paper topics must be approved by the instructor on the basis of short proposals (1-2 pages) submitted by the students before embarking on the work. Proposals will be due on March 23. Term papers and projects will be due a week before the end of classes, on April 20. Collaborative projects are encouraged, especially with teams composed of students of different disciplines.
References:
H. C. Berg, Random Walks in Biology. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, Revised Edition, 1993.
E. Bonabeau, M. Dorigo and G. Theralaz, Swarm Intelligence: From Natural to Artificial Systems. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1999. (Santa Fé Institute Studies in the Sciences of Complexity.)
V. Braitenberg, Vehicles: Experiments in Synthetic Psychlogy. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1984.
S. Camazine, J. L. Deneubourg, N. R. Franks, J. Sneyd, G. Theraulaz and E. Bonabeau, Self-Organization in Biological Systems. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001.
K. Eric Drexler, Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing and Computation. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 1992.
R. A. Freitas, Jr., Nanomedicine, Volume 1: Basic Capabilities. Austin, TX: Landes Bioscience, 1999.
D. Sarid, Scanning Force Microscopy. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1994.
L. A. Segel and I. R. Cohen, Design Principles for the Immune System and Other Distributed Autonomous Systems. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 2001. (Santa Fé Institute Studies in the Sciences of Complexity.)
R. Wiesendanger, Scanning Probe Microscopy and Spectroscopy: Methods and Applications. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
