Susan and James Wu Aerospace Colloquium

The fusion of kinematics, and in particular robot kinematics, a field centered on motion and geometry, with molecular biology has opened new avenues in disease diagnosis and treatment, drug development, nanomachines, nano-robots, nanotechnology, and sustainability. In particular, Proteins are evolution's mechanisms of choice. The study of nano-mechanical systems must encompass an understanding of the geometry and conformation of protein molecules. Proteins are open or closed loop kinematic chains of miniature rigid bodies connected by revolute joints. The robotics community is in a unique position to extend the boundaries of knowledge in nano biomechanical systems and bio-nanotechnology. This presentation will review the critical role of applied robot kinematics, in biotechnology, particularly in the evolution and discovery of innovative bio-nanomachines and bio-nano robots over the past 25 years, leading to establishing the foundation for incorporating kinematic principles in innovative bio-nanomachines. This presentation explores future trends, and issues a call to action to the robot kinematics community. Emphasizing the importance of precise kinematic approaches in understanding protein molecules' behavior for nano machine development, we argue that the robot kinematics community remains ideally positioned to drive groundbreaking progress in bio-nanotechnology and broaden the scope of these approaches in drug design, nanomachines, and development of new architected materials.