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Securing the Internet of Bio-Nano Things (IoBNT)

Internet of Bio-Nano Things (IoBNT) is a domain where biochemical processes inside the human body communicate the cyber world of the internet. IoBNT paradigm stems from synthetic biology and nanotechnology tools and enables the engineering of biological embedded computing devices called . nano-machines Nano-machines are powerful and functional man-made tiny devices. The functionality of these devices is inspired by the behavior of atomic and molecular structures composed of nanoscale components. They not only function as computers but also establish connections with the environment (human body) to detect a physical quantity, as living organisms. Communication inside the human body is as old as the existence of mankind. Indeed, the human body is a large-scale heterogeneous communication network of nano-networks as it is composed of billions of interacting nano-machines, i.e., cells, whose functionalities primarily depend on nanoscale molecular communications. Hence, the vital conditions of the human body directly depend on the performance, reliability, and continuous functioning of intra-body molecular nano-networks. Architecture of Internet of Bio-Nano Things Internet of Bio-Nano Things (Image Source: IEEE Communications Magazine ) IoBNT architecture is an extended version of the Internet of Things paradigm. IoBNT uses the cyber communication backbone of IoT. The main difference is in the perception layer, where the sensors are deployed. The sensors used in IoBNT are nano-scale and use the nano-scale communication technologies (Molecular Communication/ Terahertz based Nano electromagnetic Communication). Following are the entities involved in IoBNT architecture: Bio-Nano Things Bio-Nano Things are biological computing machines that collect sensory data from the environment (inside the human body) and pass it to the bio cyber interface. Bio nano things are used interchangeably with nanomachines. In order to develop efficient and novel nano-machines and to understand the communication mechanism between nano-machine, a study of biological cell architecture and their interactions has been proved helpful. Bio nano things are deployed in the form of inside the human body for biomedical applications. Below are five components of nanomachines. nanonetworks Image Source: FUTURE NOW THE IFTF BLOG It contains the embedded software, which aims to perform the intended task of nanomachine. The control unit controls all the other components and could have a storage unit. The nucleus of a biological cell is responsible for realizing its intended tasks. Similar to software conditional expressions biological control unit encodes protein structures, data units, and regulatory sequences. 1. Control Unit: The communication mechanism of nanomachine is realized through transceivers. Transceivers allow the embedded system to exchange information by transmitting and receiving messages at the nano level. The inter-cellular communication is realized through the gap junctions, hormonal and pheromonal receptors placed on the membrane of the cell. 2.Communication Unit: It contains the instructions to fabricate the components of nano-machines and then to replicate them. This process takes place when nanomachines are replicated by saving the code of nanomachines in molecular sequences. 3.Reproduction unit: Power unit supplies stored energy to all the other components of nano-machines, to maintain the electrical current in embedded software. Mitochondrion, chloroplast, and Adenosien Triphosphate are some of the substances of cells that correspond to the external chemical reactions to produce energy. This chemical energy is stored in the cell reservoirs and supplied to regulate the other components of the cell. 4.Power Unit: This unit provides an interface between the environment and nanomachine. The sensing and actuation is the ability of a biological cell to distinguish external molecules or stimuli e-g chloroplast of plants and flagellum of bacteria. 5.Sensor and Actuators: Bio cyber Interface Electronic tattoo can be used as bio cyber interface to communicate with in body biological nanonetwork(Image Source: IEEE Communications Magazine ) Biocyber interface is a specialized micro device that is usually implanted on the outer parts of the body. Bio cyber Interface acts as the transduction unit, which translates biochemical signals from the human body into electrical signals and electrical commands coming from healthcare providers into biochemical signals for in-body communication. Bio cyber interface has wireless communication capability which is used to communicate with gateway devices. The communication frequency of bio cyber interface is kept weak on purpose so that the high-frequency electromagnetic waves do not interfere with normal body functionality. Gateway devices Image Source: Medical News Today The gateway devices in IoBNT are usually a smartphone, tablets, PDAs or other wireless communication enabled handheld devices. Bio cyber interface communicates with gateway devices to send data and receive commands from the remote healthcare provider. Internet access point The connectivity mechanisms to forward and receive messages from healthcare provider/medical server. For example WiFi, 4G/5G, or other wireless communication mechanisms. Medical Server Photo by National Cancer Institue on Unsplash It can be a cloud-based service for storing and processing health-related data of patients and a web portal used by healthcare providers to analyze reports and consign treatment Communication among Nano-machines Nano-machines are only able to perform trivial tasks on their own; thus communication among nano-machines is very important to realize more complex tasks . Nano-machine communication technologies are divided into four groups namely: Nanoscale Electromagnetic communication Nanoscale Acoustic Communication Nanoscale  Mechanical Communication Molecular Communication Nanoscale Electromagnetic Communication This type of communication is based on the transmission and reception of electromagnetic waves between novel nano materials such as carbon nanotubes and graphene based nanoribbons. The traditional transceiver of classical wireless communication is not feasible for nano-scale communication, however novel graphene based nano-materials have shown potential to overcome this limitation.Future are envisioned to operate on terahertz band, while few terahertz channel exist to date. Electromagnetic communication can make communication possible from micro device to nano device, and research is being made for the communication between nano devices or from nano to micro device. electromagnetic nanonetworks Nanoscale Acoustic Communication Acoustic communication is realized by the transmission of ultrasonic waves through nano machine integrated transducers .These transducers should be capable to sense the variety of pressure and then react accordingly. Currently the size of transducers is the major barrier to implement this communication mechanism at nano-scale. Nanoscale Mechanical Communication In nano mechanical communication, the information is sent through nano machines that are linked physically. One of the major drawbacks for this communication technique in nano communication context is physical connection between devices. Therefore it is not workable for the applications where nano-machines have to be placed at distant locations. Molecular Communication Image source: IEEE Xplore Molecular Communication (MC) is a molecule based communication paradigm that enables transmission of bio-chemical information (e.g. status of living organisms), which is not feasible using traditional communication. Molecules encoded with information to be transmitted, are called information molecules. The information molecules activate bio-chemical reaction at receiver and may recreate phenomena and/or chemical status, which sender then transmits. Molecular communication (MC) is considered the most promising nano networking mechanism due to its nano-sized transceivers that can easily integrate into nano machine. MC is bio-inspired and closely relates to the communication phenomena existent in nature for years.MC is also paramount choice for bio medical applications that involve intra body communication. Different schemes for molecular communication can be categorized into short range communication using calcium signaling, medium range signaling using molecular motors and long range signaling using pheromones. Security for the Internet of Bio-Nano Things Nano networking is a novelty in the IoBNT domain. Thus, here we focus on the security requirements in nanonetworking only. The has already been discussed extensively. cybersecurity for IoT Global security goals for the classic communication paradigm are CIA (Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability). These classic security goals will remain the same even in the context of the nano communication paradigm. For more holistic security requirements we have added ‘Authenticity’ as the fourth security requirement. Global Security Goals Confidentiality It is the most important issue in network security. This goal ensures that the context of the message exchanged between sender and receiver should not be accessible to an unauthorized entity. Encryption techniques can be used to add confidentiality to the communication. Integrity It assures that the received information is complete and correct i.e., without being modified by an external entity. To ensure integrity in communication MAC (Message Authentication Code) hash functions can be used. Availability It assures that information is always available; the attacker should not be able to disrupt communication at any time. Setting redundancy to the network can assure availability. Authenticity It ensures that the source of message transmission is reliable and stops the attacker from sending fake messages. Types of Attacks and Threats for IoBNT Identification of attacks and threats is also important for network security. The attacks can be performed by two types of attackers; Internal attackers and External attackers. are part of the system and have access to credentials and other information required to communicate with other system entities. Internal attackers in the scenario of nano communication can be divided into two types: Local and remote attackers. Local attackers are located in the vicinity of attacked nanosystem. Attacks like eavesdropping and spoofing can be performed by these attackers. Remote attackers have to become local attackers before launching the attack. External attackers The types of attacks launched by these attackers are classified into four groups: These types of threats include access to the system by unauthorized users. In the case of nano-networks, these types of attacks are complex to launch when using mechanical or molecular communication. However electromagnetic and acoustical communication opens the door for the attackers as the covered is area is relatively large. Disclosure: Attackers can falsify or manipulate data in this type of attack. Injecting false information in the network can challenge the system reliability. Integrity checks can be performed to limit these attacks. However computational protection schemes Deception: The availability and reliability can be stalled by this kind of attack. Given in the context of nano-networks the attacker can modify the parameters such as temperature and pH level to disrupt communication. Disruption: Unauthorized entities can control system services or entities, beyond just disrupting the system. This attack can enable attackers to cause malfunctions or even take over the entire system. Usurpation: Other types of attacks adopted from traditional networks are listed below: As the name suggests the attacker snoops the communication between two nodes. Eavesdropping: Attackers try to become trustable by spoofing other nodes and broadcast malicious information. Spoofing/Altering/Replaying/Injection: Forwarding of packets to nodes that are not intended for that message in form of a loop. Loops: Dropping some of the packets that must be forwarded to the next hop of deciding whether to forward or not. Selective Forwarding: Type of selective forwarding where packets are dropped. Black Hole: Corrupted node creates an artificial sinkhole by attracting as much traffic as possible. Sink Hole: The routing is disturbed by forwarding messages far way in the network through a secret channel. Warm Hole: Geographical routing protocols are disturbed by a malicious node claiming multiple identities. Sybil Attacks: Availability and energy of potential nodes are overtaken by corrupted nodes through sending fake messages. Flooding attack: : Sequence numbers of messages sent, are manipulated by the malicious nodes. Desynchronization attack : The attacker disrupts communication between other nodes by creating noise in the communication channel. Jamming attack Nodes are captured to get cryptography keys and sensors can also be reprogrammed to make them malicious. Node Capture: Bio-Inspired Approaches as Security measures for the Internet of Bio-Nano Things Existing mechanisms of security and privacy used for traditional data communication networks cannot be applied directly to the nano communication network paradigm. The existing cryptography and encryption techniques such as AES and RSA demand high computational power whereas nano-machines can only handle light-weight security solutions due to their nano-scale capacity. Using classical cryptography might be inefficient if only limited information is transmitted (like sending a small specific molecule to send one bit of information). Then adding a digital signature or long cryptography message authentication code is not appropriate. Many secure localization existing schemes are based on time-of-flight measurements; these are not directly applicable as they would require sub-nanosecond accuracy. However, there exist a number of bio-inspired algorithms for security that can be modified or down-scaled to the nanoscale level to make them feasible for nano-networks. Molecular Communication (MC) is one of the communication mechanisms of nano networking that uses molecules for information exchange. MC is itself bio-inspired and adapts the communication mechanisms existent in nature e-g communication inside the human body. There is an established research area that aims at using Bio-inspired approaches to solve problems according to the application domain. There are three research areas of bio-inspired approaches: Bio-inspired computing represents a class of solutions that focus on providing efficient computing solutions e-g optimization algorithms and pattern recognition. Bio-inspired systems class provides nature-inspired solutions for massively distributed and collaborative systems. Bio-inspired networking class provides strategies for efficient and scalable networking under uncertain conditions. There exists a classification of bio-inspired approaches that provides efficient solutions for security to the computer networks. Artificial Immune System (AIS) The artificial immune system has been defined by as “adaptive systems, inspired by theoretical immunology and observed immune functions, principals and models, which are applied to problem-solving”. There are a number of appealing features that make an immune system, whether it is a natural or artificial suitable candidate for securing nano applications using molecular communication. Those features are robustness, reinforcement, memory, distributed, adaptive, recognition and dynamically changing coverage. Castro and Timmis The main three research fields related to AIS are (1) Immune networks (2) Clonal Selection (3) Negative Selection. Swarm Molecular Security Approaches The concept of the swarm is referred to a grouping of individual units to accomplish complex tasks that are difficult to be realized alone. Swarm based security approaches are highly potential for nano-networks security as they can be realized in lightweight systems. This type of security approach is highly effective since they are robust, self-configurable, and adaptive. The mechanisms adopted in nature to defend against attacks and intruders can be treated with . Similarly, nanorobots have minimal intelligence and capabilities individually, but when they form a group, they can provide an effective mechanism against intruders. swarm intelligence Bio-Chemical cryptography have defined biochemical cryptography as “a primitive that may be used for efficiently securing biologically based information channels.” The biochemical cryptography techniques proposed so far use DNA molecules for information encryption. Falko Dressler et al Significance of Security on the Internet of Bio-Nano Things By connecting the human body to the outside cyber world through IoBNT poses a number of threats and security issues to the human body. There are a number of possible threats and attacks that can be launched to disrupt communication. Ian Akyildiz and his group members have coined the term for IoBNT attacks in their pioneering work on IoBNT.Security mechanisms used for traditional networks demand high computation power which is beyond the capabilities of nano-machines. The available memory and processing capabilities of nano-machines are extremely limited, which makes use of complex communication algorithms and protocols impractical in nano regime. There is a huge asymmetry between the computational power of desktop computers and a single nano-machine. This limitation might affect the achievable security level, as one might have to work for short key lengths due to resource constraints which would allow attackers to easily perform brute-force attacks using high-performance computing e-g available through graphic cards. Bio-Inspired networking is an established research area that provides solutions, adapted from nature to a number of computing problems. IoBNT has many potential health applications which facilitate patients to relieve from lengthy medical tests, sparing time for appointments from health expert and necessity of being on the same location as that of health provider. "Bio Cyber terrorism" ) (Featured Image Source: IEEE Globecom

WTF is Internet Of Bio Nano Things (IoBNT) and How Secure Is It?

Who knew that idea of shrinking people into a microbe size in the science fiction movie to fight disease will become a near reality with the advent of micro/nano bots. In the movie based on Isaac Asimov's novel, a submarine was shrunk to the size of a microbe and injected into a scientist's brain to cure a life-threatening clot. Fantastic Voyage (1966) Something similar is a practical reality today thanks to microbes and synthetic biology. Biological microbes ( ) are attached to cargo-carrying apparatus and could deliver disease-fighting drugs, attack tumors, or perform other helpful functions. micro/nano bots Introduction to Targeted Drug Delivery Targeted drug delivery (TDD) is one the most popular healthcare applications of the Internet of Bio-Nano Things. TDD is the process of carrying the drug directly to the diseased organ and releasing it at that site (tumor tissue) only locally. Targeted drug delivery is primarily effective in cancer patients when other medical procedures like taking pills orally, injections, and chemotherapy procedures have potential side effects on healthy cells of the body. Targeted drug delivery aims to protect healthy cells of the body by only targeting tumor cells by providing localized medicine on the tumor site only. Nanotechnology for Targeted Drug Delivery Research in is playing an important role in realizing TDD, as it enables (1-100nm) to traverse the cardiovascular system of the body and reach the tumor site through blood vessels. is an edge to many therapeutic applications as nanorobots can reach hard-to-access areas like deep inside human tissue. Nanomedicine nanorobots The nanosize The blood vessels around the body provide a well-founded casing for blood cells to ensure blood does not leak into other parts of the body. However, blood vessels around the tumor site have tiny holes which allow only nano-sized particles to enter the tumor site and target tumor cells through . In TDD drugs are encapsulated inside the nanomachines which traverse the blood vessel network. ligand-receptor phenomena Nanotechnology-based delivery systems are making a significant impact on cancer treatment and the polymers play a key role in the development of nanoparticulate carriers for cancer therapy. These nanomachines are fabricated with biological material so that they are bio-compatible for the human body. For a successful TDD in cancer patients, nanobots can be programmed in a way that they carry drugs directly to the tumor site. A bacterial bot can be coated with a material (e.g., Streptavidin) that has a high affinity with biotin, which is a vitamin found in abundance at tumor tissue. This way the bacteria/nano bot will find its way to the tumor site. Internet of Bio Nano Things for Targeted Drug Delivery (IoBNT) systems comprise biological nanonetworks that sense biological and chemical changes in the environment (i.e., human body) and send the collected data over the Internet to data centers for further processing. Internet of Bio-Nano Things In an Internet-enabled TDD medical scenario, a cancer patient is injected with therapeutic nanodevices. The actions of injected therapeutic devices are continuously monitored by healthcare providers remotely through the internet. The health care provider can interact with the therapeutic devices in two ways: He can send commands to release the regulated amount of drug dose at the targeted site. He receives the biological parameters of the body sent by these nanodevices. The therapeutic devices traverse the blood vessel network and reach the targeted site, due to high-affinity nanodevices being anchored at the site. TDD in IoBNT can be performed through in two ways Active transport and passive transport. Active transport in molecular communication for TDD has usually been realized through the use of molecular motors and bacteria. While passive transport can be done through a particle diffusion-based approach with or without drift. Molecular Communication (MC) To present a proof-of-concept of TDD, researchers present a that presents a profile of physiological parameters of the body. cardiovascular system model After analyzing the body profile, this model can be employed to make the drug delivery more efficient by identifying injection points to get maximized treatment benefits while minimizing the drug effects on other parts of the body. The aim is to control and monitor the drug release amount from the initial release. Apart from monitoring and control of drugs through feedback messages and other mechanisms, real-time monitoring is also very important, where nanomachines can make decisions by sensing the concentration of molecules. The nanosensors can even send messages to external sources (healthcare providers) if the concentration of drug molecules increases the threshold value. The three main functions an IoBNT based TDD system performs are and . delivery, monitoring, control 1. Delivery Drug delivery is the process of releasing drugs into the target site. The process of drug delivery is performed by complex proteins called liposomes. Liposomes have the characteristics of targeting, long circulation, and stimuli responsiveness. The drug contained inside liposomes is in the form of specific molecules and can be released only upon pH, and light. These liposomes are used as drug delivery nanomachines in healthcare applications Internet of Bio-nano things. external stimulation from factors like temperature, Drug delivery can be performed systematically, where the drug delivery system is configured to regulate the amount of drug or localized where real-time monitoring and control to regulate the amount of drug release is performed. Localized drug delivery requires other entities like monitoring and control nodes, to ensure real-time control of drug release. Targeted Drug Delivery model In the above image, DD is the drug delivery nanomachine. The red particles are drug molecules traveling towards the target site. MN is the monitoring nano node that emits molecules (colored blue) towards DD to send dosage regulation signals. CN is the control nanomachine that is in charge of starting and terminating the drug release process by emitting specific molecules (colored green) towards DD. 2. Monitoring Once the drug is released in the case of a localized drug delivery system, the dosage amount must be regulated by other entities (nanosensors, nano actuators). Specialized nanomachines are assigned the task of monitoring the concentration level of the drug, and taking appropriate actions upon sensing the increased amount of drug after evaluating the MC channel. An excessive amount of drug must be avoided due to its possible side effects and to avoid drug wastage which happens during . receiver/channel congestion 3. Control The control node is responsible for starting the drug release and is in charge of terminating the drug release operation in case of specific local conditions. The control node is an actuator that can be deployed as part of a monitoring node or can be implemented as a separate node depending upon application requirements. This node can send feedback messages by releasing specific molecules different from drug molecules to update the external entities (healthcare providers) about the abnormal rate of drug release. The monitoring and control nodes used for TDD application are genetically engineered biological cells, bacterium, or artificial cells. The nano sensing devices must have high sensitivity for detecting specific molecules and must be able to respond by emitting certain molecules. Such nanosensors can be designed using whole-cell or sensor molecules captured in a chemically inert matrix. Wrapping up Although the TDD technology seems promising, there are some shortcomings to it. Firstly, there is an issue of bioethics and phagocytosis. There is a possibility that the inherent immune system might attack the drug carrying microbots, thinking of them as invaders and eat(eliminate) them up. To cater to this, the design of these bots has to be envisioned in a way that the immune system doesn't treat these drug carriers as invaders. To this aim, these bots can be coated with immune system-friendly material such as a CD47 biomarker, which carries a signal “Don’t eat me”. This way the injected drug-carrying bots will not undergo phagocytosis and will successfully reach the target site. Secondly, there is a chance that the TDD is used with malicious intent to harm the patient. The attacker can take control of the TDD system through the internet and can release inappropriate drug dosage which may be fatal for the patient.

Isaac Asimov's 'Fantastic Voyage' in Real Life: IoBNT for Targeted Drug Delivery

The Internet, as it turns out, cannot be contained. From personal computers, mobile phones, and ancient routers we are moving into a new era – the Internet of Things era. Cars, watches, even dog collars, fridges, and many other household items are created able to connect to the Internet. All of it is done to use their data and analyze various customer needs. In this article, we will look at how to actually use the data Internet of Things generates, why analyze it, and finally, what tools to use to build an information system. Why Build IoT Dashboards There are several reasons for building IoT dashboards: Automatically enhance incoming data from your equipment with the location, time, weather, temperature, and other external factors unique to your customers; With the help of IoT Dashboards, users and operators can (remotely) monitor and control specific assets and processes and, depending on safety requirements, access and control an environment from anywhere in the world; Monitor hardware and software performance to reduce operating costs, as well as lower maintenance costs by pre-empting product failures and minimizing downtime; Learn how customers use IoT devices at a granular level and let it guide your product development; Quickly bring your own IoT analytics product to market to offer customers premium dashboards and reporting functionality. Before building an IoT dashboard Before building your IoT dashboard you should ask yourself some important questions: What components should be presented on the dashboard? Where will my data be received and processed? What protocols will I use? Will I build custom dashboards or use ready-made solutions? What gateways will you use? Why do I even do IOT dashboards? We will review the IoT data processing platforms and consider the various protocols. Also, we’ll consider some nuances of connecting devices to platforms and dashboards. This will help you deal with all the variety of solutions that exists in this market. It is also worth mentioning that articles on this topic across the Internet are split into two types. The first type is how to build dashboards in terms of UI, and the others tell you how to build dashboards in terms of infrastructure. At first, I will review dashboards’ contents, platforms, and software. If you have tried to build your own IoT application architecture, you know how complex this simple diagram is. All of these things are time and money drains that require hundreds of man-hours to correct, test, and deploy. To build an IoT application you need to create a structure encompassing: devices, variables, dashboards, and alerts. Types of IoT connections, architecture, and networks An IoT system has a three-level architecture: devices, gateways, and data systems. The data moves between those levels via four types of transmission channels. IoT connection types Device to Device – direct contact between 2 smart devices; Device to Gateway – data transfer between sensors and gateways; Gateway to Data systems – data transfer from the gateway to the data cloud; Between Data systems. IoT network types — a set of small devices (sized a few micrometers at most) that perform very simple tasks such as sensing, computing, storing, and actuation. Such systems are applied in the biometrical, military, and other nanotechnology areas. A nanonetwork — a low-speed network to connect electronic devices at a distance within 4 cm from each other. Possible applications are contactless payment systems, identity documents, and keycards. NFC (Near-Field Communication) — a network to connect wearable computing devices that can be worn either fixed on the body or near the body in different positions, or embedded inside the body (implants). BAN (Body Area Network) — a net to link up devices within a radius of roughly one or a couple of rooms. PAN (Personal Area Network) — a network covering the area of one building. LAN (Local Area Network) — a network that unites smaller local area networks within a limited geographical area (enterprise, university). CAN (Campus/Corporate Area Network) a big network for a certain metropolitan area powered by microwave transmission technology. MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) — — a network that exists over a large-scale geographical area and unites different smaller networks, including LANs and MANs. WAN (Wide Area Network) IoT Protocols In this section, I have presented the main protocols that work with IoT dashboards. is a lightweight protocol that is the most popular for sending simple data flows from sensors to applications and middleware. This protocol functions on top of TCP/IP and includes three components: subscriber, publisher, and broker. The publisher collects data and sends it to subscribers. MQTT suits small, cheap, low-memory, and low-power devices. MQTT (Message Queue Telemetry Transport) and high-performance machine-to-machine communication. You can deploy DDS both in low-footprint devices and in the cloud. DDS (Data Distribution Service) is an IoT standard for real-time, scalable, is an application layer protocol for message-oriented middleware environments. It is approved as an international standard. Its processing chain includes three components that follow certain rules. AMQP (Advanced Message Queuing Protocol) is a short-range communication technology integrated into most smartphones and mobile devices, which is a major advantage for personal products, particularly wearables. Bluetooth is well-known to mobile users. Bluetooth Choosing the right IoT platform. Difference between IoT platforms and dashboards An IoT platform is a hardware and software system for managing IoT devices and collecting, storing, visualizing, and analyzing data from those devices. There are many IoT platforms on the market, and their functionality varies enormously. Although all IoT platforms will have a dashboard to display data, some platforms are, in fact, only dashboards, which are only really capable of displaying data from devices. You will often find the terms Dashboard and Platform used interchangeably. An IoT Dashboard can be considered a basic IoT platform. A Dashboard can usually display data and control devices. However, an IoT platform can usually: Collect data from various sources; Store data; Control Devices; Display Data; Run Tests; Deploy device updates; Manage device Inventory. The most popular IoT Platforms – is an open-source IoT platform for device management, data collection, processing and visualization for your IoT projects Thingsboard – Thingstream’s intelligent Global Connectivity Platform provides low power, low cost, ubiquitous IoT connectivity via MQTT over GSM. Thingstream – delivers tools and technologies that empower businesses to rapidly develop and deploy powerful industrial IoT applications and augmented reality (AR) experiences. ThingWorx – is an open IoT platform with MATLAB analytics. Thingspeak – IoT Application Enablement Platform that integrates any device, transforms real-time readings into meaningful data, and combines different devices and services into a complete IoT solution. Wolkabout is an open-source IoT platform for device management, data collection, analytics and visualization, remote control, software updates, and more. Kaa Difference between an IoT platform and a DIY solution An IoT platform, in simple words, is an ecosystem that is already combined and put together to facilitate hassle-free and less time-consuming creation of IoT products and solutions. An IoT platform is an Internet of Things environment on its own, and it can be used by businesses anywhere and everywhere for creating their very own versions of IoT products, solutions, and services. On the other hand, an IoT DIY solution is when you, as a business or System Integrator, combine your thoughts, experiences, and mindsets to create technological innovations and advancements that will help you put together your very own IoT solution on the world map. If you need a fairly simple solution, the budget is very limited, there is no need for branding and you work with the most experienced devices with widespread protocols – choose a ready-made solution. For more complex cases, consider building your own custom solution. Examples of ready-made IoT dashboard solutions These are the dashboards that support the MQTT protocol and can be used to display data from MQTT devices. – Open source Node-based platform for flow-based programming. Device management using the Node-red UI. Node-Red – Open source data visualization and device management. Open-source Apache license. Available as a cloud service or via installation on local hardware. Thingsboard – Open-source. Very popular, but doesn’t currently support MQTT out of the box. Freeboard.io Of course, you can use custom solutions. Building a custom IoT dashboard Before creating your own dashboard, do the following: – to build an IoT application you need to create a structure encompassing: devices, variables, dashboards, and alerts. 1) Structure your Solution – devices are the individual hardware selected to sense data in a particular environment. It is very important that the device is selected based on the environment and the requirements you’re looking for it to complete. Also please consider your connection protocol of choice, be it WiFi, Bluetooth, Sigfox, LoRa, Ethernet, etc. 2) Select a Device Components of IoT dashboard Components that will be used in the dashboard depending on the data you need to show and what you build the dashboard for. We will consider a couple of data types and the purposes for which they were built. Imagine you have a bunch of temperature sensors that are used in an existing system to control your home heating. A good approach to networking those sensors would be MQTT. Each sensor posts to a particular topic and the boiler controller are subscribed to those topics. Now, you’d probably want a dashboard, and it’s easy enough to get the current temperature data via MQTT: just subscribe to the temperature topics using your client library of choice. But what about temperature data history? For that, we need some kind of data storage. Components for this case should be: status, temperature, camera, map, graphics, time. You also need these extra modules in your app, if are building it for other users: Alerts. An alert is any action triggered when a sensor’s readings fulfill or exceed any design rule. For instance, you can send an email or an SMS anytime a sensor stops sending data or exceeds a threshold for temperature or vibration. Authentification, login, user administration, branding. Building IoT dashboard on top of Flatlogic dashboards In Flatlogic, we have experience in building data display solutions with the Internet of Things. You can use our components to display both parts of the information and to build a full front-end solution. To display the graphs, you can use the components of the Analytics module: Widgets can be used to display weather and various quantitative indicators: You can also build a complete profile management solution using the People module: In the Charts, Maps and Table modules you will find many options for displaying these components: You can also customize your own look & feel. Design layouts that exactly meet your needs. Change widget and background colors, add logos, match your branding, make it your own. You can also do it like a white label solution: set up your logo, match your branding, define your look and feel, responsiveness. Recap and conclusion In today’s variety of technologies, before choosing any solution, you need to determine what you need it for. There are 2 main ways to display data from IoT: build your own solution or trust ready-made platforms. Ready-made platforms can be useful for some common cases. There is no deep customization and only a basic set of components is included. Also, do not forget that you depend on the capacity and protocols of the platform with which you work. There is also a chance your data will leak. If you have a lot of devices with different protocols and data, consider building your own solution. You should choose this option if want to build a complete solution with alerts, user rights, your own design, an article. In general, you need to know what you want. And here ready admin templates can be useful. Previously published at https://flatlogic.com/blog/how-to-build-an-iot-dashboard/

The Easiest Way To Build Your IoT Dashboard

Nanotechnology is defined in a number of ways. One such definition is provided by which states nanotechnology as “a branch of technology dealing with the manufacture of objects with dimensions of less than 100 nanometers and the manipulation of individual molecules and atoms”. Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers Nanotechnology deals with the miniaturization and fabrication of devices on a scale ranging from 1 to 100 nanometers. The prefix nano means one-billionth i.e., (1x10-9). was the physicist who discussed the possibility of dealing with molecules directly in his lecture "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom: An Invitation to Enter a New Field of Physics" at the annual meeting at Caltech on December 29, 1959 Richard Feynman American Physical Society Nanotechnology has a number of applications in multidisciplinary fields such as physics, chemistry, biology, sports, health, computer science, and ICT(Information and Communication Technology) to name a few. This article explores the applications of nanotechnology in the fields of computer science and ICT. Fabrication of nano-sized devices called is made possible through nanotechnology tools. Nanomachines are functional devices and capable of performing trivial tasks like sensing, actuation, computing, and data storage. Single nanomachines are only capable of performing trivial tasks. nanomachines Therefore, to perform more complex tasks they must be interconnected to form a network. Nanomachines can be manufactured using three approaches top-down, bottom-up, and bio-hybrid. Approaches to manufacture nanomachines Image Source: Stanford Online In this method atoms and molecules are self-assembled into nano- structures. Hence bottom-up refers to the construction of large objects from smaller building blocks, i.e. construction of nanostructures using atoms and molecules, rather than bulk materials. Bottom-up: Top-down approach is the building of nanostructures and materials by mechanical methods such as lithography, and by bulk technology. The top-down method for processing of nanostructured materials involves starting with a bulk solid and then obtaining a nano-structure by its structural breakdown. Mechanical and thermal methods are also used for the preparation of nanostructured materials from the bulk. Top-down approach: Bio-Hybrid approach is the assembly of nano-sized biological components and manmade nano-structures, to develop new nano-machines. This process includes positioning of the constituent sub-nano building blocks into an assembly of a functional structure. This approach is very expensive and time-consuming as compared to other states of the art of manufacturing technologies. Bio-Hybrid Approach: Molecular Communication: A nano networking technology Image Source: Foundry4 Nano communication network is a novel communication paradigm that enables communication among nanoscale devices at a scale ranging from 1-100 nm. At this scale, the receivers and senders used by traditional wired and wireless communication are not workable. Therefore nanomachines have been developed to realize communication at this tiny scale. Nanomachines are tiny devices that are able to perform trivial tasks and can do complex tasks after forming a network (nano network). Nanomachines can be biological entities or can be synthesized materials. is the paradigm in that utilize molecules for communication among nanomachines. Molecular communication is biologically inspired i.e., it adapts the communication mechanisms already existent in nature for communication among living organisms. Molecular communication (MC) nano communication networks The human body is composed of a large-scale heterogeneous network where molecular communication takes place for intrabody communication. There are many intrabody applications where small-scale communication is necessary e-g targeted drug delivery, BMI (Brain Imaging Interface), tissue engineering and cell repair etc. Various communication and networking aspects of MC are currently being explored by the research community. Molecular communication is as old as the existence of nature, as communication has been taking place between living organisms since then. However, with the advancement in computer networking, the significance of Molecular communication has been brought to light all over. The research on molecular communication from the networking perspective is almost two decades old but still is immature. There are still a number of open issues regarding the design and mathematical modeling of system components that need to be addressed. Communication ranges of Molecular Communication Molecular communication is able to take place in three ranges. (1) Short-range communication using molecular motors is the mechanism where inter-cell and intra cell communication takes place using molecular motors, which are carriers of information encoded molecule. (2) Short-range communication using calcium ions is another mechanism of molecular communication where communication might take place either between physically adjacent cells or distant cells using calcium ions (Ca2+). (3) Long-range communication using pheromones is the communication mechanism that takes place between sender and receiver nanomachines that might be millimeters to kilometers apart. Application domains long-range communication is military field and environmental applications. Molecular Communication reference models In this section, some prominent architectures and conceptual models for MC are explored. We know that the is the conceptual communication model used for traditional wired and wireless networking systems. Researchers in MC have proposed a similar layered model for MC as well. OSI ( Open Systems Interconnection) model consists of five layers i.e., Application Layer, Molecular transport layer, Molecular network layer, Molecular link layer, Signaling sublayer, and Bio-nanomachine sublayer. have described the functionality of each layer in detail and highlight the open research challenges according to each layer. The molecular communication Nakano et al TCP is a connection-oriented protocol used in traditional communication. communication protocol for molecular communication between biological nanomachines is also proposed, to avoid congestion between sender and receiver. TCP-like connection-oriented has been explored extensively. Intra-body molecular communication channels, i.e., nanoscale neuro-spike communication channel, action potential-based cardiomyocyte molecular communication channel, and hormonal molecular communication channel, are introduced. The architecture of is explored to get inspiration for the development of new foundations in molecular communication. Molecular communication inside the human body nanonetworks inside the human body Healthcare applications of Molecular Communication Applications of MC related to health care have can be classified into two groups namely Diagnosis and Treatment. is a therapeutic diagnosis mechanism that has been analytically modeled using molecular communication. ADD (Antibody Mediated Drug Delivery Systems) This will be a cost-effective and reliable drug discovery and optimization model. The accuracy of this model has been confirmed by finite element simulations. In the diagnostics area, nano-sensors, nanophotonics and nano cameras are playing a vital role in the early detection of biological and environmental contaminants in the body. Nanomedicine is the biomedical application that is trending in that top five research areas of nanotechnology. Other biomedical applications of MC include immune system support, medical implants, drug delivery systems, health monitoring, and correcting genetic disorders to name a few. More applications of nanonetworks can be found . here Principles of Molecular Communication Molecular communication protocol consists of information molecules that contain information to be transmitted, sender bio-nano machines that send information molecules, and receiver bio-nano machines that receive information molecules. Other types of molecules might be included in the system such as transport molecules which move information molecules, guide molecules which guide the movement of transport molecules, and interface molecules for selective transport of information molecules. Image Source: Science Direct Different phases of molecular communication are described below: In this phase, sender nanomachines encodes the information into the information molecules in various forms. Encoding: : In this phase sender bio nanomachine releases information molecules in the environment. Sending : It is the phase in which molecules travel from sender nanomachine towards receiver nanomachine. This transport can be either passive or active. Passive transport is the through the diffusion of molecules in the environment without chemical energy, whereas in active transport information molecules bind to molecular motors. Propagation : Transmitted molecules are received from the aqueous medium in this phase usually with the help of chemical receptors. Receiving : In this phase, the captured molecules are decoded by receiver nano-machines into the form of chemical energy. Decoding Molecular Communication Interface A vesicle-based communication interface provides a mechanism to encapsulate messenger molecules in an aqueous medium, which aims to transport different types of information molecules in diverse propagation environments. A liposome is an artificially created spherical vesicle composed of a phospholipid bilayer membrane surrounding a discrete aqueous compartment (an inner aqueous phase); its diameter can be controlled from tens of nanometers to tens of micrometer. The liposomal structure compartmentalizes information molecules from the propagation environment and provides a generic architecture to transport diverse types of information molecules, independent of their biochemical and physical properties. The liposomal structure also protects information molecules from deformation. Molecular Propagation System In Molecular Communication, there exist three types of propagation mechanisms. Walkway, Flow-based and Diffusion-based mechanisms. 1.  In walkway-based propagation, molecules connect the transmitter to the receiver by traveling on predefined pathways using carrier substances such as molecular motors. 2. In a flow-based mechanism, molecules flow towards the receiver in guided and predicted manner. In a flow-based mechanism, carrier entities can also be used for molecular transmission instead of showing random entities. An example of a flow-based mechanism is the bloodstream in the human body (hormones). 3. In the diffusion mechanism, molecules flow in the fluidic medium and can be affected by non-predictable turbulence present in the fluidic medium. Diffusion-based molecular communication is considered to be the most practical means of wireless communication between nanomachines. In diffusion-based communication, the molecules flow from a high concentration region to low concentration regions in fluidic medium. Key components of diffusion-based transmission are transmitter, propagation system and a receiver. Each transmitter has a limited store of messenger molecules. Whenever there is a message to be transmitted, a transmitter emits a specific amount of molecules into the environment. Transmitter: Molecules are released or absorbed by means of molecular flux, which is able to modulate the molecular concentration rate at the transmitter location as a function of time. The amplitude of the transmitted signal defined by the number of released messenger molecules. Each nano-robot has a 0.1 µm3 tankage and has an initial source of 108 molecules of which Q=103-104 molecules are emitted at a time. The prorogation is accomplished by a thermally activated diffusion mechanism, in which flux is achieved from regions of high to low concentrations via random collision with the underlying medium. Messenger molecules propagate in two ways; normal diffusion where interactions and collision among emitted particles is neglected and anomalous propagation where movements of emitted particles can be affected by the collision among interaction among other particles. Propagation system: The particle reception process is accomplished by sensing the messenger molecules in the receiver sensing area. The receiver sensing area is a small surface around the receiver in which the messenger molecules bind to the receiver chemical receptors with high probability. The received nano-machine biochemically reacts with the received information molecules and an electrical inner cell signal is produced as the output. Receiver: Lessons to be learned There is a plethora of applications of Molecular Communication (MC) that need researchers' attention. Research in MC is still in its infancy and there a lot of open research challenges that need to be addressed. MC displays potential
 for enabling complex applications of nanotechnology that
 require the collaboration of very small entities (nanomachines). 
MC in nano-scale communication has three advantages. MC has a number of advantages over traditional electromagnetic communication. It requires very low energy, MC is able to decrease the size of the antenna, and MC has biocompatible characteristics for in vivo systems, as long as harmless molecules are
 used. (Featured image source : Juraj Lenhard from Pixabay )

An Intro to Nanotechnology: What is Molecular Communication? 

Image Source: H2020 FET projects in nanotechnologies Nano network is a novel information and communication technology, which is based on the communication of nano-scale devices. does not merely refer to the reduction in transmitter and receiver size, but it’s the communication protocols between these nanodevices that are novel. Nano network Traditional wired and wireless networking paradigms use electromagnetic signals as a transmission medium. Whereas, nanonetworks utilize to send and receive messages between nanomachines. message encoded molecules The Nanosize Conundrum Computer science has always been used to solve real-world problems. The progress in computing machines can be marked with an increase in computational power and a reduction in the size of the machines. Nanotechnology has made the manufacturing of computing machines possible that are even smaller than human hair and can only be seen under a microscope. These devices are called nanodevices or nanomachines. are capable of solving real-world problems more efficiently as compared to their macro size counterparts. Nanomachines When the computing devices are downscaled to nano size, they grow in number and can work more efficiently together as compared to a single big machine. Image Source: Research gate The network of nanodevices is analogous to the swarm of bees. One bee is weak and only perform simple chores. But when these bees encounter an attack, they quickly mobilize to form a swarm and attack the predator jointly. Similarly,  nanomachines are resource-constrained devices in terms of computation and power due to their minute size. The full potential of these devices can be explored by interconnecting them into the form of a network. A nano network will aid in overcoming the constraints of a single nanodevice by allowing it to coordinate, share, and fuse information with other devices in the network. There are several promising applications of nanonetworks that can provide solutions in the biomedical, industrial, environmental, and military fields. Nano network applications Nanonetworks applications are unlimited and are used extensively in almost every field. These are classified into the following broad groups. Biomedical applications of nanonetworks Image Source: Medium The size of nanodevices makes them feasible for several biomedical and health monitoring applications including diagnostics, treatment, and prevention of diseases. Another advancement in the field of healthcare is the nanomachine being deployed inside the human body which can remotely be controlled from the nanoscale and over the internet by an external user (healthcare provider). In the diagnostics area nano-sensors, nanophotonics and nano cameras are playing a vital role in the early detection of biological and environmental contaminants in the body. Connecting the human body with macro-scale devices and networks for data collection is not feasible as 1) the high-frequency electromagnetic waves can interfere with the normal functioning of the body and 2) large devices connected to the body will hinder the mobility of the patient. Thanks to nanotechnology the size of machines is so small that these can be injected into the bloodstream or even swallowed. Don't worry! these machines are non-invasive and made from biocompatible and biodegradable materials.  Following are some of the potential biomedical applications: Immune system support Medical implants Drug delivery systems Continuous Health monitoring Correcting genetic disorders Nanomedicine Industrial applications of nanonetworks Nanodevices are showing potential in a number of industrial and consumer good applications.  Interconnected nanomachines are used by the video gaming industry for increased thrill and realistic gaming experience. Micro-electromechanical System (MEMS) aims at developing small scale systems e-g Lab-on-a-chip (LOC). A LOC is typically a few micrometers to millimeters in size. It provides the functionality of transporting molecules from one location to another, mixing different types of molecules, and separating specific kinds of molecules from a mixture. Some other industrial and consumer goods applications are listed below Food and water quality control Functionalized materials and fabrics Sports and video gaming Cosmetics Military Applications of nanonetworks Nanotechnology also has several applications in the military field. Dense deployment of nanonetworks in large areas helps in monitoring and actuation of the battlefield while soldier performance can be monitored by deploying nano-networks in the human body. Nanodevices such as imperceptible nano cameras, ultrasonic nano phones, and biological nano-sensors are devices that show potential in battlefield monitoring and actuation. Environmental Applications of Nanodevices Image Source: Agriculture News The bio-inspired nature of nanotechnology makes it feasible to detect and sense contaminated materials found in nature. The problem of handling and dumping garbage is increasing around the world; this problem can be dealt with by a biodegradation process that uses nano-networks. Animals and biodiversity control process can be realized with nanonetworks using pheromones. This results in interaction with certain animals and also to control their presence in particular areas. Nanonetworks can also be used to monitor air, thus controlling air pollution and nano filters can be developed to improve air quality and remove harmful materials from the air. ARCHITECTURE OF NANONETWORKS Nano network is comprised of several nano-scale devices such as nano transmitter, nano receiver, nano router, and other specialized nanodevices to perform exclusive tasks like sensing, actuation, monitoring, and control. The composition of nanonetworks depends upon the prospective application requirements. For example, a biomedical application like nano surgeries might need specialized nanodevices like nanorobots along with essential components of the nano network. Nano transmitters, nano receivers, and nano routers are the essential components of nanonetwork, however, a nanonetwork might not necessarily contain all of the below-mentioned nanodevices. Following is a detailed classification of nanomachines that can be part of nanonetworks according to application requirements. Nano Transmitters Nano transmitters are specialized nanomachines that are capable of sending encoded message molecules into the nano network environment. Information molecules can be sent into the environment by two types of nano transmitters, pre-encoded nano transmitters, and generic nano transmitters. Pre-encoded nano transmitters have encoded molecules stored in their compartment at the time of fabrication. Nanosystems that can be used as pre-encoded nano transmitters are artificially synthesized cells, genetically engineered biological cells, or artificial cells. For example, lipid-based liposomes (i.e., molecule carrying enclosure) and polymer-based nanospheres and nanocapsules can be used as nano transmitters. Generic nano transmitters mimic natural cells such as bacteriophage, viruses, etc. Unlike pre-encoded nano transmitters, the message molecule is synthesized inside the nano transmitter according to the trigger signal. has been done by University of Cambridge researchers. A detailed review of physical design options for nano transmitters Nano Receiver A nano receiver detects the transmitted signal from the environment, further processes it, and produces an output signal in response. Same as nano transmitters, nano receivers take up the molecule from the environment, process it via a predefined biochemical algorithm that decodes the signal. The decoded signal is then used to initiate an appropriate response in the environment e-g, stopping, initiating drug delivery sessions, synthesize or release some molecules, internal reconfiguration, or other biochemical reactions. Nano Sensor A nanosensor is a simple nanodevice that senses the environment to detect the presence of biological components or changes in environmental conditions like light, pH level, temperature. Nanosensors can coordinate the changes in the environment with other nanodevices, which may work as a trigger signal to initiate an appropriate response. Nano Robot Nanorobots are nanodevices that have actuation capabilities in addition to the sensing ability. Nanorobot consists of sensors, actuators, information processing unit, memory unit, and power unit that make nanorobots a powerful device. Nanorobots can manipulate the surrounding environment by performing actuation functionalities like precise delivery of therapeutic molecules to diseased cells. Nano controller Nano controllers are specialized nanodevices that are used to monitor and control other devices in the nano network. Their tasks may include monitoring the drug release process to make sure that a controlled amount of drug is released or to initiate/stop a process in the nano network. Nano Router Nano routers are more sophisticated nanodevices in terms of power, storage, and computation capacity. They are in charge of aggregating and processing information coming from various nanodevices in the network. Nanotechnology will let us build computers that are incredibly powerful. We'll have more power in the volume of a sugar cube than exists in the entire world today - Ralph Merkle

Beyond The Nanosize Conundrum: A Deep Dive into Nano Networks and its Many Applications

Biological nanomachines are nano-sized tools used for the monitoring, diagnostic, and treatment of disease at the molecular scale. Biological nanomachines adopt the structure and communication principles of natural biological cells. From a communication engineering perspective, bionanomachines are computational devices that work at a nanoscale to perform simple functionalities like environmental sensing to more complex functionalities like actuation and manipulating the environment (i.e., human body). These devices have limited computation power and memory due to their nano size. Yet, their minute size is an edge for many novel applications, as they can be concealed and implanted in hard to access areas (such as deep inside the tissue of the human body) in a non-invasive manner. These machines are non-invasive and are made up of biodegradable material. The Role of Biological Nanomachines in Pervasive Healthcare Bionanomachines are resource-constrained devices and cannot perform complex tasks alone. Thus, bionanomachines communicate with each other to share information and execute designated tasks, forming a ‘biological ’. nanonetwork Healthcare and biomedical applications are some of the most promising use cases of nanonetworks, along with many other applications in industrial, environmental, and military domains. Some of the envisioned biomedical applications of nanonetworks include , continuous health monitoring, and tissue engineering. targeted drug delivery (TDD) Nanonetworks are envisioned to lead the world to a sophisticated healthcare experience. With the nanosensors and micro-robots patrolling inside the human body to collect physiological parameters, there is no need to go to labs to draw blood samples and wait for results. Even better, if nano actuators are connected to the nano \sensors, they can repair the detected malfunctioning in the body there and then. Biological nanomachines promise maximum therapeutic effects with very limited adverse effects. Other macro-scale therapeutics like chemotherapy not only kills the cancerous cells but also destroys the healthy cells of the human body. Whereas, nanotechnology-based TDD only targets the tumor sites. The potential benefits of nanonetworks can be increased when they are connected to external networks such as the internet. Connecting in body network with external networks enables pervasive healthcare, where a healthcare provider can monitor the patient remotely from the comfort of their home. The healthcare provider can demand physiological parameters like Blood pressure, glucose, ECG at any time, and can administer commands according to received parameters remotely. Additionally,  after the recent pandemic of Covid-19 and the lockdown regime, there has been an accelerated interest in exploring remote therapeutics. Architecture of Bionanomachines Nanomachines can be fabricated using novel nanotechnology material (i.e., like and graphene nanoribbons) and by reprogramming biological materials like cells, viruses, bacteria, bacteriophage, erythrocytes, leukocytes, and stem cells or by artificially synthesizing biomolecules like liposome, nanosphere, nanocapsule, micelle, dendrimer, fullerene, and deoxyribonucleic (DNA) capsule. carbon nanotubes Certain design and development factors must be considered during the fabrication of nanomachines. These factors include the size, shape, stability, and biodegradability of the system. In biomedical applications, nanomachines are introduced into the blood vessels, from where they traverse to their targeted location. The smallest blood vessel is a capillary that is 5-10 micrometer in size; hence the upper bound of nanomachines must be set accordingly. On the other hand, nanomachines that are less than 5nm can be easily filtered out by kidneys. Thus, the size of the nanomachine must be propped. Channel characteristics like blood vessel geometry, elimination, adhesion, reaction, extracellular viscosity must be taken into account as well while fabricating nanomachines. Components of Nanomachines A bionanomachine is comprised of several hardware constituents. All the software and programming of the nanomachine is included in the information processing unit. The components of nanomachine are presented below: The information processing unit contains the programming part of nanomachine, which interprets command and process data. The functionality and behavior of nanomachine are coded in this unit. The information processing unit is capable of performing only trivial operations, like Boolean operations using only one transistor. Information Processing Unit Information processing unit for nanomachines is made up of nano-sized transistors like a single atom or quantum dots. Researchers from for the smallest transistor which has a gate length of just one nanometer. The processing unit is analogous to the nucleus of the cell. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have provided a proof of concept Biological cells already exhibit the natural behavior of energy harvesting. A component of the biological cell called mitochondria releases Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) as a chemical energy supply to charge the cell. Power Unit Communication is the basic functionality in any network, Likewise, the communication unit defines its capability of nanomachine to communicate with the environment. Nanomachines react in response to external stimuli produced by other nanomachines. To accomplish this, gap junctions located on the outer surface of the cell enables communication with the extracellular environment. Communication Unit The memory unit is narrowly associated with the information processing unit. Nanodevice needs a memory unit to store sensed data or memory can be used for some configuration and instruction set to be executed. Some nanomachines might not require memory at all because nanomachines are not supposed to perform complex computations. The nucleus of the cell can act as a long-term memory unit and the cytoplasm can perform the short-term memory functionality. Memory Unit Sensors continuously interact with the environment by collecting the chemical, physical and biological changes in the environment. Actuators work closely with the sensors by manipulating the environment in response to the sensed data. In biological cells, sensing is done by a natural process like ligand-receptor binding, or cilia can be used as a sensing antenna. Gap junction channels are used for actuation. Sensors and Actuators Locomotion is the ability of nanomachines to move around in the environment. The locomotion can be passive via molecular diffusion into the environment or active via molecular motors. Locomotion Unit Nanotechnology in medicine is going to have a major impact on the survival of the human race. - Bernard Marcus

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