MIT, Army work on nanotech

The Army and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology opened the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies in Cambridge, Mass.

Funded by a $50 million grant from the Army, the institute will develop technologies to push the Army's Objective Force concept in six capability areas: threat detection, threat neutralization, concealment, enhanced human performance, automated medical treatment and reduced logistical footprint.

The Objective Force program, the Army's long-term plan for modernization, is intended to develop a high-tech force that uses lightweight protective gear integrated with sensors, networked systems and unmanned air and ground subsystems.

Nanotechnology systems operate at atomic or molecular levels. A nanometer is about 50,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair.