Productive nanosystems are currently a research oriented class of nanotechnology that will produce programmable, molecular-scale systems that make other useful nanostructured materials and devices. These systems may take over a decade to develop and mature.
They will be qualitatively different from nanomaterials, particularly regarding regulatory issues. These systems may be used as infrastructure for manufacturing, specifically the ability to build molecularly precise, inexpensive, three-dimensional products of arbitrary size.
The most straightforward infrastructure for manufacturing will be built with special purpose molecular fixtures and components that are analogous to macroscale factory components that produce devices that are inherently incapable of replication.
These special purpose manufacturing systems will eventually be able to manufacture very large structures by scaling specific components and sub systems.
The simplest, most efficient, and safest approach to productive nanosystems is to make specialized nanoscale tools and put them together in factories big enough to make what is needed.
People use simple tools to make more complex tools, from blacksmiths' tools to automated machinery. The convergent assembly architecture developed by Ralph Merkle (1997 Nanotechnology8 18-22), describes how small parts can be put together to form larger parts, starting with nanoscale blocks and progressing up the hierarchy to macroscopic systems.
The machines in this would work like the conveyor belts and assembly robots in a factory, doing similar jobs. If you pulled one of these machines out of the system, it would pose no risk, and be as inert as a light bulb pulled from its socket.
The eventual applications of these special purpose manufacturing systems include the ability to build almost any mechanical device cheaply, and in large quantity. This is why productive nanotechnology manufacturing capabilities will eventually do for our relationship to molecules and matter what the computer did for our relationship with bits and information.
The computer enabled an ever expanding number of people to access billions of dollars worth of information. Productive nanotechnology will enable an ever expanding number of people to enjoy significant material wealth, based on carbon feedstock, which currently is in overabundant supply.
It will also enable the technical infrastructure to address effectively many of our most pressing transportation, environmental, medical and global warming issues.
The primary risks of manufacturing enabled by productive nanosystems concern what is manufactured, not the manufacturing infrastructure itself. Special purpose manufacturing systems can be designed to be safe and reliable. They could be made to build a wide range of devices cheaply, in place, and on-demand.
These products could include components for large scale buildings, computing, mass transit systems, energy storage, and spacecraft. On the other hand, they could also include tiny new security devices, and large quantities of inexpensive and super strong conventional weapon systems.
