Chemical Power for Swarms of Microscopic Robots in Blood Vessels

Microscopic robots in the bloodstream could obtain power from fuel cells using glucose and oxygen. Previous studies of small numbers of such robots operating near each other showed how robots compete with their neighbors for oxygen. However, proposed applications involve billions of such robots operating throughout the body. With such large numbers, the robots can have systemic effects on oxygen concentration. This paper evaluates these effects and their consequences for robot power generation, oxygen available to tissue and heating as such robots move with the blood. When robots consume oxygen as fast as it diffuses to their surfaces, available power decreases significantly as robots move from the lungs, through arteries to capillaries and veins. Tens of billions of robots can obtain hundreds of picowatts throughout the circuit, while a trillion robots significantly deplete oxygen in the veins. Robots can mitigate this depletion by limiting their oxygen consumption, either overall or in specific locations or situations.