NanoRobots

Our team partnered with Sydney Nano’s Nanorobotics for Health Grand Challenge Team lead by Dr. Shelley Wickham and Dr. Anna Waterhouse.  In order to hone our new method for the development of creative expression of scientific data, we have been experimenting with ways of interpreting electron microscopy images of self-assembling nano robots and stack images of blood clots. Through the development of software programs that can parse through and analyse these images we are able to develop sonic and visual expressions of this data. Below are a few images explaining our research.

Electron Microscopy Images of self-assembling Nano Robots from the Nanorobotics for Health GC Team

Electron Microscopy Images of self-assembling Nano Robots from the Nanorobotics for Health GC Team

App allows us to distil information from visual data that can be output as OSC, CV, MIDI, and numerical data​

App allows us to distil information from visual data that can be output as OSC, CV, MIDI, and numerical data​

At present we are exploring three different creative avenues for creatively expressing the NanoRobotics for Health data. These engage our new methodological approach to this work with a software program that allows us to identify particular areas of visual imagery and then use those points as the basis for creative expression.

1. Conception

How and why are nanorobots born? Current research has allowed scientists to design and create nanostructures out of DNA, literally programming biomolecules to produce a wide range of building blocks at nanoscale. One goal is to create containers small enough to travel through the human blood stream carrying drugs that can be delivered to specific targets.  Conception showcases the research involved in the creation of nanorobots through DNA origami techniques, through which pre-designed shapes self-assemble. The process is largely stochastic, leading to a percentage of defective specimens, or detritus. We are developing creative responses to articulate this process.

2. Expansion

Once created, nanorobots can be released on different fluid media, and programmed to move around it, seeking their predefined target. For nanorobots, locomotion is enabled through a continuous chemical exchange with the surrounding environment, resulting in an irresistible thrust forward. Their genesis determines their springtime – and ultimately, their heroic demise. Expansion brings together visualisation and generative sound to showcase an audio-visual interpretation of nanorobots' existence. This audio-visual work illustrates the techniques used by scientists to precisely design the lifecycle of these nanorobots, how they move and act, and how they fulfill their clinical mission.

3. Collapse

With a scale of several microns, blood clots are gigantic compared to nanorobots. Nanorobots are trained to neutralise and dissolve a clot when in its presence. By fulfilling their mission and releasing the clot-killing drugs at their core, the nanorobots also lose their structural integrity, exploding into a myriad of neutral DNA strands that merge into the blood fluids and are eventually thrown away. The cycle completes with the destruction of both clot and nanorobot, leading to healing of the human ecosystem. Making use of visualizations and surround sound, Collapse offers a creative interpretation of our research focused on the identification and neutralisation of clots in the human bloodstream, and the crucial role nanorobots play in ensuring the safe delivery of anti-clotting drugs.