Utility Fog
Conceived of by J. Storrs Hall, Utility Fog is an application of nanotechnology in which a nanobots or foglets cluster together to form a shapeshifting mass that could perform a variety of functions and is not always visible to the naked eye. Each foglet is mostly made of telescoping arms and a nanocomputer and would be 6 to 10 millionths of a meter in size. Some of the arms would grip the ends of other foglet arms for power and communications connections while the others cling to the original structure.
Articles on KurzweilAI.net that refer to Utility Fog
The Age of Spiritual Machines: Glossary By Ray KurzweilSafer Molecular Manufacturing through Nanoblocks By Tom Craver
Lifeboat Foundation Nanoshield By Michael Vassar and Robert A. Freitas Jr.
Related Links
Utility Fog: The Stuff Dreams Are Made OfUtility Fog