Nanorobotics

When it comes to advancements in technology, only the birth of true artificial intelligence could be said to rival nanorobotics.

The creation of the first nanoscopic machine, or nanite, as they are most often called, was an arduous task. Working with elements less than a micron in size required the development of new tools that often required years of exceedingly expensive research and development all on their own.

Zetasys Industries is quoted as having called the creation of nanites "Russian-doll engineering." as the process involved creating a small machine that would create an even smaller machine, scaling down further and further until finally reaching nanoscopic, with each step down presenting more and more seemingly insurmountable hurdles.

Decades and amounts estimated in the trillions were spent in this pursuit, but the successful creation, programming and deployment of the very first nanoscopic machine was without question, a watershed moment for humanity.

The task of the first nanite was simple: create more nanites.

Today, the programming instructions for that task are one of the most closely guarded secrets in the Solar System.

Applications

From manufacturing, to medicine. From cybernetics, to waste management and on into warfare there is hardly an industry that has not benefited from nanites.

With the ability to manipulate matter down to the molecular level, these machines can build, modify, or dismantle nearly anything given enough time, energy and matter to work with.

Medicine

In medicine, nanites are the holy grail, able to be programmed to seek out and destroy any bacteria, virus, or foreign agent to the body. Or alternatively, seek and repair damage to any and all tissue, including nerves and grey matter. Soft-tissue wounds can be healed in a fraction of the time. Bones are mended in days instead of weeks. Diseases, cancer, paralysis, aging, all can be solved with nanites.

Manufacturing

While more traditional manufacturing methods are still employed for the vast majority of goods, nanites have allowed for the creation of new, exotic materials that revolutionized the industry. Composites stronger than carbon steel, at a third of the weight, meant a whole new frontier for the construction of buildings, vehicles, and ships.

Cybernetics

Next to the medical industry, and adjacent to it, cybernetics have benefitted the most from nanites. While cybernetics were developed in advance of nanites and had come a long way in their attempts to replicate the functionality of organic limbs, it was nanites that finally allowed the creation of intricate cybernetics that could not only directly replace body parts, but serve as upgrades over flesh and bone.

Cybernetics became faster, stronger, better, than anything nature could produce. Nanites made it possible to create, and seamlessly connect synthetic nerve structures, to their organic counterparts. Science-fiction quickly became science-fact with successful integrations of cybernetics into virtually every part of the human body, and the creation of completely synthetic humanoids capable of achieving full sensory.

Waste Management

The advent of nanites represented a significant leap forward in waste management. With the machines being able to manipulate materials on such a small level, it came to be that virtually anything could be effectively recycled, refurbished, or repurposed. The importance of this to intra-stellar colonies cannot be overstated.

Warfare

As with nearly any invention of significant potential, military application was not far from the forefront of the minds of many.

Very quickly, it was discovered that maliciously programmed nanites could be unleashed in countless ways. Aerosols, food and water supplies, hollow-point ammunition, thrown containers, virtually any form of contact could be used to deliver nanites to utterly devastating effect. Personnel, vehicles, electronics, infrastructure, the invisible machines could bring ruin to anything.

It took virtually no time at all for the use of weaponized nanites to be universally outlawed in warfare with the understanding that nano-warfare could, and almost certainly would, spell the end of humanity.

Limitations

While the possibilities of nanites seem endless, they are still bound by the scientific laws that govern all things. Nanites are limited in their speed primarily due to an energy problem. The faster nanites work, the more energy they consume and the more heat they produce. Nanites also of course require the appropriate mass to build or repair anything. To put it simply, they cannot build or mend complex things with incredible speed and they cannot simply build something out of nothing.

With only a handful of Corporations even having the requisite permission and knowledge to build them, nanites are also highly expensive, and tightly controlled. In many cases this limits the procurement and use of nanites to Corporations, and wealthy private citizens with an exceptional social status. While they can be found amongst various black markets through the Sol, buying nanites outside of a credible source is considered extremely high risk.

(External resource for nanites in scale https://htwins.net/scale2/)