Introduction: Welcome to Molecular Robotics!

Abstract

AbstractThe purpose of this chapter is to give a general idea of the field of molecular robotics and the motivation behind its research and development. We first describe the definition of molecular robots. Conventional robots can be defined as a combination of sensors, processors, actuators, and the structures in which they are embedded. Molecular robots can be defined in the same way, but the main difference is that whereas conventional robots are assembled top-down with the help of external forces, molecular robots are assembled bottom-up by the self-assembly of component molecules. Next, an amoeba-type molecular robot is taken up as a typical example of a molecular robot. In this robot, a molecular sensor, a molecular processor and a molecular actuator are embedded in an artificial cell membrane, and its movement is controlled by external optical stimuli. We also explain the historical background and inevitability of the emergence of such a discipline as molecular robotics. Molecular robotics has its origins in the cybernetics of the 1940s. It has emerged as a focal point where disciplines such as chemistry, informatics and biology intersect. The last part describes the applications of molecular robotics in various fields such as medicine, environment, energy and devices.