Molecular Robotics: A New Paradigm for Artifacts

TLDR

Molecular nanotechnology’s rapid progress has enabled molecular robotics, a field that integrates molecules as robotic components and draws researchers from chemistry, biophysics, DNA nanotechnology, systems science, and robotics. The Molecular Robotics Research Group, founded in 2010 by SICE, aims to clarify the fundamental concepts and research direction of molecular robotics through a comprehensive view derived from its interdisciplinary discussions. We present a comprehensive view of molecular robotics derived from interdisciplinary discussions within the Molecular Robotics Research Group. The group’s proposed molecular robotics project received a Grant‑in‑Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (FY2012‑16) from MEXT, marking a major large‑scale research initiative in Japan.

Abstract

The rapid progress of molecular nanotechnology has opened the door to molecular robotics, which uses molecules as robot components. In order to promote this new paradigm, the Molecular Robotics Research Group was established in the Systems and Information Division of the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers (SICE) in 2010. The group consists of researchers from various fields including chemistry, biophysics, DNA nanotechnology, systems science and robotics, challenging this emerging new field. Last year, the group proposed a research project focusing on molecular robotics, and it was recently awarded a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (FY2012-16), one of the large-scale research projects in Japan, by MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, JAPAN). Here, we wish to clarify the fundamental concept and research direction of molecular robotics. For this purpose, we present a comprehensive view of molecular robotics based on the discussions held in the Molecular Robotics Research Group.