| Nanorobotics | |
|---|---|
 Secondary technology of Tier N/A | |
| Science | 3216 
|
| Requires | N/A |
| Leads to | None |
| Affinity |
+40 |
| Buildings enabled | None |
| Improvements enabled | None |
| Satellites enabled | N/A |
| Units enabled | N/A |
| Notes |
Improves the |
- "Once you reduce robotics and programming to molecular manipulation then it becomes a simple affair, suitable to the lower percentile intellects."
- Daoming Sochua, Scientific Morality Vol. IX
History[]
The first practical application of nanorobotics was in the realm of materials replication, as the so-called “utility fog” that is now used in a number of industrial operations. The next was the creation of “programmable matter,” whereby materials can be created with the ability to change physical properties – shape, density, moduli spacing, optical and conductive qualities, etc.) in response to user input or autonomous sensing. One common example is the radiation-responsive fabrics now popular with fashion designers across the settlements. On a more serious level, research in nanorobotics led to the development of “smartdust,” nanorobots used as sensors to detect and measure wavelengths, vibrations, temperature, magnetism, chemicals and other things, then react to their presence or counter their effects. A recent advance in nanorobotics is claytronics, utilizing modular reconfigurable nanobots that can “clump” together to create larger machines of varying complexity. Even with these developments, colonial scientists have barely begun to exploit the potential of nanorobotics.