Three Waves of Nanotechnology
14 Jan 2008
by Jeff WackerApplying the Mild, Wild and Magic of Nanotechnology to the Supply Chain
NanoInk
NanoInk Incorporated has developed nanotagging technology that allows tablet-level identification. Encryption can identify when and where the product was manufactured, which market the product is destined for, and the expiration date. As the technology is not visible to the naked eye, products can only be assessed in nominated locations.
In the UK, a company that is described as “one of the world's largest premium drinks companies” is seeking packaging material with specific functional properties related to selective gas transfer, the release of freshness compounds from the pack material and the stripping out of degradation compounds over time. The material would also form a barrier to UV light and have anti-bacterial, acoustic and tactile properties. The material is described as “glass/metal-like plastic” in the project description.
Quick, what's the smallest car you can think of? Your mind might leap to the Cooper Mini or the Mercedes-Benz SMART car. Or perhaps even a Matchbox toy car? But these vehicles are gargantuan compared to Rice University's single-molecule car, the world's first tiny nanocar. The entire nanocar measures just three to four nanometers across, making it slightly wider than a strand of human DNA. A human hair, by comparison, is about 80,000 nanometers in diameter.
Nanotechnology is a fundamental materials technology where structures are created and manipulated at the molecular level of 1-100 nanometers. Manufacturing at this ultra-small scale, the resultant products have unique and novel properties that cannot be achieved through conventional technologies.
No longer new and novel, a study recently released by the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences covering 600 executives shows the increased significance of nanotechnology to both traditional and emerging fields in the last five years. In 2000, one could identify only a handful of companies with nanotechnology programs. In 2005, 18% of the surveyed industries were already marketing products, about 80% expect to commercialize nano-products by 2010, and almost everyone expressed confidence their organizations will be involved with nanotechnology in the future. Products containing nano-particles already pass unnoticed through the supply chain of many businesses.
But the current uses of nanotechnology are still in the first or early second of four stages as defined by the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. In a report titled, “Nanotechnology: The Future is Coming Sooner Than You Think,” they define those stages as 2000-2005: passive nanostructures, 2005-2010: active nanostructures; 2010-2015: systems of nanosystems (2010-2015) and 2015-2020: molecular nanosystems. I have a tendency to reduce these into three waves I call simply: Mild, Wild and Magical. Let's see how they affect the supply chain.
Mild Wave – Packaging and Counterfeit Prevention
The Mild Wave is characterized by utilizing nanotechnology to improve existing capabilities. For the supply chain one result will be packages and packaging that ensure the quality of products from initial packaging through transport to ultimate consumption.
- Ultra-strong materials resist tearing or even bending (carbon nanotubes are 400 times stronger than steel)
- Ultra-light materials reduce added weight (Aerogel are solids with the feel of Styrofoam but are nearly as light as air)
- Ultra-efficient materials provide superior insulation and protection from chemical or UV effects (Polymer nanocomposites show significant improvement over conventional materials)
- Ultra-clean materials battle microbiological effects (25nm silver particle antibacterial and anti fungal coatings are being used on some cell phones)
Designer packaging that meets specific requirements of manufacturers and transporters will have a major impact on the supply chain.
A second area of impact is the use of nanotechnology to provide protection from counterfeiting. According to Industry Week, the cost of counterfeiting and piracy to the world economy is anywhere from US$500 to $650 billion. Nanotags built into unit products can be used to verify authenticity. NanobarcodesTM are being developed for paper, plastic, metal and textiles that allow for trillions of unique codes. Surface enhanced Raman (SERS) nanotags give a unique fingerprint when interrogated by lasers. Pharmaceutical companies are particularly interested in these capabilities because their products are highly targeted for counterfeiting.
Wild Wave – Sensors and Robotics
The Wild Wave of nanotechnology moves beyond enhancements to the creation of new capabilities for the supply chain. Some of the most interesting will require active and systems of nanosystems capabilities that will emerge over the next 5-10 years.
One of these capabilities is the creation of Nanoelectromechanical Systems (NEMS). NEMS devices are part electronic and part mechanical allowing for the creation of ultra-small, ultra-efficient sensors. NEMS sensors will sample the quality, temperature, and other characteristics of products throughout the supply journey and signal for action should any degradation occur. A primary difference with today's sensors, aside from their ultra-low size and cost, will be their ability to be parasitic powered by harnessing the energy in motion, ambient temperature or even radio waves in the atmosphere.
Another element of this Wild Wave will use nanotechnology to enable the economic creation of high capability robots. In other words, it will move robots from isolated usage into nearly every aspect of the supply chain. One primary difference in these robots is that they will have capabilities similar to human beings. These robots will have artificial muscles powered by chemical sources, similar to human muscles fueled by glucose and oxygen in our blood. They will utilize NEMS sensors mentioned above and will be controlled by computers built ultra-capable with nanotechnology as well.
Magical Wave – the Way Out There Wave
Arthur C. Clark coined as one of his three laws, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Indeed scientists and engineers are now seriously pursuing capabilities that we would consider magical, or at least the stuff of science fiction. If built, the Space Elevator would expand the supply chain to off-of-this-world products as materials glide up to and down from earth orbit on a 24 inch ribbon. Contemplated nanomovers, with ultra-smooth surfaces lubricated by adaptive nanites may move cargo from one location to another without friction. But the ultimate and most controversial potential application of nanotechnology is the elimination of finished goods from the supply chain. NanoFactories, facilitated by nano assemblers, would assemble molecules of raw materials into finished products on demand. But current companies need not lose sleep yet about these last capabilities as they are most likely to occur in the 15 to 20 year timeframe, if at all.
The Nanotechnology Caveat
Nanotechnology is not without its problems or downsides. Organizations dedicated to controlling or eliminating research on nanotechnology point out many of the unknowns that are yet to be discovered and addressed. How do nano particles interact with our environment? How do we control engineered nanomachines? Even how do we measure what we can't see? One of the biggest challenges of proving that Rice University's nanocar is really the world's smallest car was to prove that its wheels actually turn. Their voices alongside the advocates will help create a safe and sane exploration of this remarkable technology.
While we can't yet haul cargo in the world's smallest car, the fact that it exists is proof that the miniscule world of nanotechnology holds huge potential to transform the supply chain and virtually every aspect of our lives.
About the Author:
Jeff Wacker
Jeff Wacker is an EDS Fellow and a futurist. He has appeared on the History Channel's “Modern Marvels,” is a contributing writer for EDS' Next Big Thing Blog and is an expert on RFID.