From Nanotechnology to Nano-Planning

This paper describes the novel area of nano-planning|the study of automated planning in a eutactic environment. We begin by describing the evolution of present technology towards nanotechnology and the rationale for engineering nano-robots. The various established elds of research that will contribute to the creation of the rst nano-robot are reviewed. The discussion then focuses on the role of artiicial intelligence (AI) in nanotechnology. We argue that AI techniques are the most appropriate means of control for nano-robots, and will facilitate a major improvement in the cost-eeectiveness of molecular manufacturing. As molecular manufacturing is concerned with nding suitable assembly sequences for end-speciied molecules, automated planning techniques will be essential. Nano-planning is presented as a novel area of research comprising knowledge representation and domain modeling, traditional planning, scheduling and constraint satisfaction, machine learning and adaptive planning, nano-robotic ne motor control, computer aided economic analysis and advanced graphical simulation.