Robots may flow via blood

Nanoscale robots that can flow through blood or repair complex electronics may be a possibility, with the help of a new strategy developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Although devices such as computer processors can effectively handle electrical signals at a length scale of 10 nanometers, achieving motion at the nano-scale has remained elusive.

“If we want to conquer nano-scale, we need efficient ways to convert electrical signals to mechanical signals on comparable length scales,” said ORNL's Sergei Kalinin, co-author of a paper published in Nano Letters. The paper, according to a press release, outlines an approach for nano-scale motion that takes advantage of the metal insulator transition in vanadium dioxide.