A bush robot is a hypothetical machine whose body branches in a fractal way into trillions of

nanoscale The nanoscopic scale (or nanoscale) usually refers to structures with a length scale applicable to nanotechnology, usually cited as 1–100 nanometers (nm). A nanometer is a billionth of a meter. The nanoscopic scale is (roughly speaking) a lo ...

fingers, to achieve very high dexterity and reconfigurability. The concept was described by

Hans Moravec Hans Peter Moravec (born November 30, 1948, Kautzen, Austria) is an adjunct faculty member at the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, USA. He is known for his work on robotics, artificial intelligence, and writings ...

in a final report for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

in 1999, who projected that development of the necessary technology will take half a century. Bush robots are also referenced as very recent technology in the

Transhuman Space ''Transhuman Space'' (THS) is a role-playing game by David Pulver, published by Steve Jackson Games as part of the "Powered by ''GURPS''" (''Generic Universal Role-Playing System'') line. Set in the year 2100, humanity has begun to colonize the S ...

and

Eclipse Phase ''Eclipse Phase'' is a science fiction horror role-playing game with transhumanist themes. Originally published by Catalyst Game Labs, ''Eclipse Phase'' is now published by the game's creators, Posthuman Studios, and is released under a Crea ...

roleplaying games. They are also featured in some novels, such as '' Rocheworld'' by physicist

Robert L. Forward Robert Lull Forward (August 15, 1932 – September 21, 2002) was an American physicist and science fiction writer. His literary work was noted for its scientific credibility and use of ideas developed from his career as an aerospace engineer. He ...

, '' Iron Sunrise'' and ''

Singularity Sky ''Singularity Sky'' is a science fiction novel by British writer Charles Stross, published in 2003. It was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2004. A sequel, '' Iron Sunrise'', was published that same year. Together the two are re ...

'' by

Charles Stross Charles David George "Charlie" Stross (born 18 October 1964) is a British writer of science fiction and fantasy. Stross specialises in hard science fiction and space opera. Between 1994 and 2004, he was also an active writer for the magazine '' ...

, ''Matter'' by Iain M. Banks, '' The Turing Option'' by Harry Harrison and artificial intelligence expert

Marvin Minsky Marvin Lee Minsky (August 9, 1927 – January 24, 2016) was an American cognitive and computer scientist concerned largely with research of artificial intelligence (AI), co-founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's AI laboratory, ...

, ''

The Return of Bruce Wayne ''Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne'' is a 6-issue American comic book Limited series (comics), limited series published by DC Comics beginning in May to November 2010, written by Grant Morrison and featuring a team of rotating artists starting wi ...

'' #6 by

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, humanist philosophy and countercultural leanings. Morrison has written extensively for th ...

and

Lee Garbett Lee Garbett is a British comic book artist born in the West Midlands. He has worked on British comics. As of February 2011, he is working freelance after a period of exclusivity with DC Comics. Career He created the 4-issue mini-series ''Dar ...

, ''The Big Chill'' by

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including '' Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', '' The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and '' From He ...

and Carlos D'Anda (as the last form of life in the universe) and '' The Adventures of Lando Calrissian'' by L. Neil Smith. Bush robots also play an important role in

Ken Macleod Kenneth Macrae MacLeod (born 2 August 1954) is a Scottish science fiction writer. His novels ''The Sky Road'' and ''The Night Sessions'' won the BSFA Award. MacLeod's novels have been nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke, Hugo, Nebula, Locus, an ...

's ''The Cassini Division'', part of his science-fiction series ''The Fall Revolution''. The utility robots in the movie

Interstellar (film) ''Interstellar'' is a 2014 epic science fiction film co-written, directed, and produced by Christopher Nolan. It stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Bill Irwin, Ellen Burstyn, Matt Damon, and Michael Caine. Set in a ...

were fractal designs similar to a Moravec bush, but with only five levels of bifurcation.

See also