Hybrids are nanostructures configured with another material. For example, Tour and his team have demonstrated the ability . It's the active nanotechnology, 15 years out or more, that will be useful in constructing large materials, Tour said.

So far, Tour's team has not only been able to build nanovehicles, but it has also been able to power them through two methods: heat and light. By heating the surface that the cars are on, the team is able to excite the molecules in the vehicle, and they move forward in a straight line until they hit an object. The light motion works on the principle of photo activation.

"We've made a motorized car, and for that, you shine light on it and the motor spins in one direction and pushes the car like a paddle wheel on the surface," Tour said. "Then we have other ones called nanoworms that wiggle back and forth as you shine light on them."