What comes next?
Just as the popular image of nanotechnology is in the still largely theoretical realm of nanomachines, popular fears about where nanotechnology might take us tend to centre on the hackneyed notion of self-reproducing robots roaming out of control. -It may be that the world will end up needing a nanotech immune system, with police nanobots constantly at microscopic war with destructive bots," Time reporter Michael Lemonick speculated (with no obvious evidence) in 2000.
While that problem may not arise, the potential social impact of widespread nano-manufacturing is a topic that's rarely discussed. The potential threat to employment represented by the late twentieth-century shift to computerisation seems small compared to the possibility of a manufacturing process that requires human planning, but no human involvement. As nanotechnology becomes more advanced, discussions of its potential medical impact are also likely to increase involvement.
For now, the reality is a little more prosaic. Even the most ardent supporters of nanotechnology believe it will be decades before most of these ideas are practical, and some observers take an even more sceptical view. -While researchers are making steady and incremental progress in many areas, there have been no epochal nano-breakthroughs," Wall Street Journal columnist Lee Gomes noted recently. -In other words, nothing analogous to the 1974 discovery of gene splicing, which launched the biotech industry."
The biggest challenge is to develop the fundamental research underpinnings of nanotechnology, which will be an expensive task without immediate commercial reward, even if the long-term impact is immense. Further research may also throw up further roadblocks. For instance, nanotechnology enthusiasts are fond of pointing out that nanomachines don't contradict existing laws of physics, but tend to forget that those laws have undergone some radical shifts in the past century.
-There are many applications envisaged for nanotechnology," says Professor Jani Matisons, nanotechnology professor at Flinders University. -But if we don't understand some of the fundamental principles that govern nano-structures, the accurate placement of such precise structures, and the interactions of such structures in a very confined environments, we will not get applications beyond the initial simple ones that are already out there."
Subscribe now to Australian Technology & Business magazine.
Nano technology will change in orders of dimension the way things are done today but has considerable dangers if used improperly.
The CSIRO already has protoypes and patents using 'nano materials' to measure forces on all types of materials that can be used for a wide range of practicle applications.
However, what Austrlia needs is its ability to commercialise its R&D and retain talent that works at the stage of commercial product development, that follows on from organisations like the CSIRO. Taking it from pure research to commercialising product is something Australia needs to get a lot better at and provide incentives for.
Australia's (and all other countries for that matter) challenge will be whether it is able to develop large scale complex commercial software that meets real market needs, is robust and maintainable, to exploit the enormous power available. Currently its software development practices and management need considerable improvement (there are some pockets of excellence) at leading, managing and making good use of the high tech software talent that exists in this country. The U.S certainly isnt showing leadership in this area, but it appears that India is one that is.
So the real issue will be needing strong management leadership talent to utilise and retain the high tech R & D talent within Australia that works at the commecialisation end of the process. It needs to be able to compete in a very competitive global market where the likes of India appears to be taking more the market share in large scale software development.
Perhaps with more government support of software R & D using nano technology beyond pure research and emphasis within the software industry on management leadership talent/skills in addition to pure tech skills, we may be able to move towards being world leaders in this area and retaining both our management/leadership and high technical talent pool.