Nanobots are officially one step closer to taking over the world. Scientists have created a tiny chemical “brain” which will some day be able to guide swarms of nano-machines.

The nano-brain is made of 17 duroquinone molecules and measures a measly two billionths of a meter across. It was able to control eight microscopic machines simultaneously in tests.

Scientists have high hopes for using nanobots in medicine and Dr. Anirban Bandyopadhyay, creator of this nano-brain, believes that his device may one day offer a solution for steering them through a body.

“That kind of device simply did not exist; this is the first time we have created a nano-brain,” he said.

The nano-brains are essentially molecular CPUs, currently capable of processing 16 bits of information simultaneously. Researchers say that they have already built faster machines, capable of 256 and 1024 operations.

Currently their functions are very limited, but eventually they could be used for a variety of tasks. Nanobots have huge potential to help us, and they seem more useful than ever now that we can control them.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University are working to create mini robots which are capable of morphing into virtually any form by clinging together. These “claytronic” robots, as they are called, use electromagnetic forces to move around, communicate, and even share power.

The team is also experimenting with using electric instead of electromagnetic forces to help the robots cling together, as magnetic forces are less efficient at smaller scales.

But software, not hardware, may be the group’s biggest challenge, says UK scientist Alan Winfield. “Right now we just don’t know how to design a system that produces a higher overall intelligence from a group of simple agents.”

[Via NewScientist] Video after the jump. Read more »