A nano-operated proto type robot has been successfully built in Shenyang, northeast of China.

The success has propelled China into a world leader in nano-operation technology.

Researchers at the Shenyang Automation Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), operate via a special microscope and computer screen the nano robot's hand, which is multi-million times smaller than a pinhead. The artificial hand can move atoms like people play chess or write on a tiny area that is as small as one-twentieth of the cross-section of a hair.

Experts say that the nano robot's precision tops the world, and has provided a foundation for future robots that could enter the human body to manipulate cells.

A nano is a unit of length that measures one-billionth of a meter. Nano micro-operations are applicable to move, carve and assemble on nanomaterials, using a nanoscale.

(CRI.com April 16, 2005)