The next step will be tweaking the molecule to allow for continuous rotation. At 78 atoms, the Boston College molecular motor isn't even the world's smallest. That distinction goes to researchers at University of Groningen in the Netherlands and Tohoku University in Japan. In their Nature paper, the Dutch and Japanese scientists describe a 58-atom molecule that spins continuously when light is shined on it. According to Davis, this approach could be a simple way of powering nanomachines.
Applications of nanotechnology are still in the imagination stage.
I really don't know how realistic that is. The teeny motors could also possibly power molecular-sized computers. Many big hurdles remain, including how one would attach the nanomotors to the devices they'll power. We haven't solved those problems yet. One feels we will.