© 1999 Robert A. Freitas Jr. All Rights Reserved.

Robert A. Freitas Jr., Nanomedicine, Volume I: Basic Capabilities, Landes Bioscience, Georgetown, TX, 1999

7.4.3 Intradevice Messaging

Intradevice messaging has already been briefly described in the context of metamorphic control (Section 5.3.3), lengthy gear trains (Section 6.3.2), sliding and rotating control rods (Section 7.2.4), acoustic transmission lines (Section 7.2.5.3), and mechanical cables (Section 7.2.5.4), and does not appear to present any major fundamental or conceptual difficulties.

To summarize, internal communications within an individual nanorobot may be achieved by impressing modulated low-pressure acoustical spikes on the hydraulic working fluid of the power distribution system, or by mechanically actuating simple networks of rods and couplings, easily achieving transfer rates of >10⁹ bits/sec.¹⁰ Single-channel mechanical, hydraulic or acoustic cables ~10 nm in diameter can be bundled together into a flexible 100-nm diameter 100-channel data bus suitable for controlling flexible manipulators or for maintaining control during metamorphic shape shifts; nested doped buckytube fibers could provide a similar multiplicity of electrical conduction channels. Internal fluid chambers can distribute pressure actuation signals in the manner of the latching ratchet/pawl and vernier ratchet threshold-active pressure actuator mechanisms proposed by Drexler.¹⁰

Last updated on 19 February 2003