Nano@Home is a new
distributed computing project aimed at advancing the science of
nanotechnology. The idea was first proposed by
Foresight Institute Senior Associate Robert Bradbury in 2000. Though things have moved forward since then, his proposal is still an essential read, and gives insight into the need to prepare now rather than later for the nanotech era. Although it is currently in the very early stages of development, it appears that the project will allow thousands of users to design parts for
nanomachines on their
PCs. These parts will then be used to create a
database which can be utilized by scientists in the field. Ideally, this will provide future nanotech designers with ready-made templates from which to work.
As of October 2003, Nano@Home is still in the planning and design stages. It is very community-oriented, and they are currently searching for volunteers to contribute to the project. According to their FAQ, it could take anywhere from one to three years to reach the end user stage.
The original proposal for the project can be found at: http://www.aeiveos.com/~bradbury/Proposals/NanoAtHome.html
The current website for the project is at: http://www.nanoathome.org