Robots with sizes comparable to cells will be particularly
useful for biological science and medicine. For example, they
could simultaneously observe many cells, in vivo over extended
periods to time, and the chemical signals they exchange. Such
robots could also provide detailed diagnostics and targeted
interventions for medicine. Realizing the potential of these
machines requires developing technology to fabricate them in
large numbers, cheaply and reliably, and suitable control
programs. This talk will focus on control, highlighting how it
differs from controlling conventional robots. These differences
include physics dominated by surface forces and Brownian motion
rather than inertia, the need to coordinate large numbers of
robots, and the nature of their operating environments.
Simulation studies incorporating these features identify
tradeoffs among task performance and hardware capabilities such
as power use and sensor accuracy. Such simulation results can
help focus future fabrication engineering on th