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What
is a nanodevice? You can think of a nanodevice as a man-made molecule with a purpose.
A nanodevice may be very complex with multiple subsystems (such as a nanobot
capable of locomotion, sensing and manipulation and which requires power and on-board
control logic). Or a nanodevice can be relatively simple, like a cage or a lever.
The defining characteristics are that it has a precise molecular definition, does
not occur in nature and is potentially useful.
While
most nanodevice designs remain "speculative engineering"—that is,
we don't possess the necessary technology to build them yet—there are some
nanodevices already being manufactured today, notably carbon nanotubes (which
hold promise as key elements of nanoelectronics and as components of advanced
materials). As nanotechnology manufacturing techniques mature, the universe of
feasible nanodevices will increase in both number and complexity. Nanodevices
are now science fact, no longer science fiction. We're
taking a multi-pronged approach to nanodevice data: - We've
developed the industry's first markup language for the representation of nanodevices,
called nanoML™, that captures not only the molecular
structure of a nanodevice, but also its various properties, operational constraints,
system architecture and supporting adminstrative information.
- We're
creating the nCyclopedia Plus Database to serve as
a clearinghouse for nanotechnology related data and nanodevice designs or ideas.
- We're
developing software libraries and applications
that will help design, analyze, manipulate and communicate nanodevices.
- And
we're providing world-class nanodevice simulation
services. These services include modeling, as well as visualization and analysis.
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