Nanobot technology improves to the point where they can now swarm like fish

The researchers behind the advancement of Nanobot technology have implemented a new way to control the Nanobots within the human body. The researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong say that this new method of controlling the Nanobots will help surgeons in performing complex medical procedures.

Associate professor Zhang Li who is leading the project says that he was inspired by schools of fish and flocks of birds to swarm towards a common point. Zhang, who is apart of the university’s Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, and his team uses a magnetic field to control the Nanobots which in turn implements a swarm like behavior from the Nanobots.

From the naked eye, the swarm of Nanobots looks like a grey blob moving through the human body. However this “blob” is made up of millions of Nano sized particles. The magnetic field can also be altered to get the Nanobots to split, move in different directions and also rejoin together. This is a great benefit to technology as they can already change their form to match the conditions of their environment. Already it has been reported that the Nanobots can extend and shrink within their swarm.

Zhang told sources that the most difficult and creative part of their work was to find a proper method to get the Nanobots to move and to get them to reswarm at the nanoscale that they are working with.

The use for this type of technology can help with delivering medication to certain parts of the body as well as eye and cancer therapies. Additionally they will help surgeons reach with precise movements or hard-to navigate spaces.

Zhang believes that the with the further development of the technology he hopes to see that the swarming technique of the Nanobots allows for helping people with stroke symptoms and other vascular related conditions.

The team has already started conducting tests on animals for the process along with the Prince of Wales hospital to further improve and perfect the newly discovered technique.