Meet the nano-nauts: Smart dust swarms for planetary exploration (Forwarded)

Royal Astronomical Society
London, U.K.

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Robert Massey
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AND
Anita Heward
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CONTACT:

Prof. John Barker
Nanoelectronics Research Centre
Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering
University of Glasgow,
Glasgow G12 8LT, Scotland
Tel: +44 (0)141 330 5221

PRESS INFORMATION NOTE: RAS PN 07/24 (NAM20)

EMBARGOED FOR 00:01 BST, WEDNESDAY, 18 APRIL 2007

MEET THE NANO-NAUTS: SMART DUST SWARMS FOR PLANETARY EXPLORATION

Engineers at the University of Glasgow are designing a new breed of
planetary explorers: tiny, shape-shifting devices that can be carried on the
wind like dust particles but are also smart enough to communicate, fly in
formation and take scientific measurements.

Smart dust particles consist of a computer chip, about a millimetre in
dimension, surrounded by a polymer sheath that can be made to wrinkle or
smooth out by applying a small voltage. Roughening the surface of the
polymer means the drag on the smart dust particle increases and it floats
higher in the air; conversely, smoothing out the surface causes the particle
to sink. Simulations show that by switching between rough and smooth modes,
the smart dust particles can gradually hop towards a target, even in
swirling winds.

Dr John Barker, who will be describing possible applications of smart dust
at the RAS National Astronomy Meeting in Preston on 18th April said, "The
concept of using smart dust swarms for planetary exploration has been talked
about for some time, but this is the first time anyone has looked at how it
could actually be achieved. Computer chips of the size and sophistication
needed to make a smart dust particle now exist and we are looking through
the range of polymers available to find one that matches our requirements
for high deformation using minimal voltages."

Smart dust particles would use wireless networking to communicate with each
other and form swarms. Dr Barker explains, "We envisage that most of the
particles can only talk to their nearest neighbours but a few can
communicate at much longer distances. In our simulations we've shown that a
swarm of 50 smart dust particles can organise themselves into a star
formation, even in turbulent wind. The ability to fly in formation means
that the smart dust could form a phased array. It would then be possible to
process information between the distributed computer chips and collectively
beam a signal back to an orbiting spacecraft."

In order for the smart dust to be useful in planetary exploration, they
would need to carry sensors. With current technology, chemical sensors tend
to be rather large for the sand-grain sized particles that could be carried
by the thin Martian atmosphere. However, the atmosphere of Venus is much
denser and could carry smart sensors up to a few centimetres in size. Dr
Barker said, "Scientific studies could theoretically be carried out on Venus
using the technology we have now. However, miniaturisation is coming on
rapidly. By 2020, we should have chips that have components which are just
a few nanometres across, which means our smart particles would behave more
like macro-molecules diffusing through an atmosphere rather than dust
grains."

The group at Glasgow thinks it will be some years before smart dust is ready
to launched into space. Dr Barker said, "We are still at an early stage,
working on simulations and components. We have a lot of obstacles to
overcome before we are even ready to physically test our designs. However,
the potential applications of smart dust for space exploration are very
exciting. Our first close-up studies of extra-solar planets could come from
a smart dust swarm delivered to another solar system by ion-drive."

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information on work on smart dust at the University of Glasgow
see
http://userweb.elec.gla.ac.uk/j/jbarker/sd.html

The Smart dust project

Smart dust was developed by Kris Pister, Joe Kahn, Bernhard Boser at the
University of Berkley, California, between 1998 and 2001 with the aim of
demonstrating a complete sensor/communication system that can be integrated
into a cubic millimeter package. Glasgow University is a member of a large
consortium dealing with a practical variant called Smart Specks:
http://www.specknet.org/about/

IMAGES

Images and stills from animations showing smart dust swarms on Mars are
available at
http://userweb.elec.gla.ac.uk/j/jbarker/sd.html