Automated 2D micro-assembly using diamagnetically levitated milli-robots

In this article, we demonstrate the application of diamagnetically levitated milli-robots for the 2D micro-assembly of 10-μm polymer microspheres and other silicon microfabricated parts. By using an optical microscope for feedback (imaged at 27 Hz), we are able to demonstrate long-term open-loop stability (up to 78 hr) and sub-micron stability of the levitated micro-robots. Furthermore, due to the low hysteresis and high compliance in the magnetic drive of the milli-robots, we are able to directly use the milli-robots in conjunction with machine vision as a force sensor. Soft polymer-based end effectors are used for the micromanipulation of parts and show modest reliability of pick (>70%) and high reliability of place (>99%) that is insensitive to the pick surface material. Finally, we implement autonomous micro-assembly from randomly deposited microspheres into ordered arrays.

[1]  Vladimir Mironov,et al.  Organ printing: tissue spheroids as building blocks. , 2009, Biomaterials.

[2]  Jun Liu,et al.  Recent advances in nanorobotic manipulation inside scanning electron microscopes , 2016, Microsystems & Nanoengineering.

[3]  John A Rogers,et al.  Heterogeneous Three-Dimensional Electronics by Use of Printed Semiconductor Nanomaterials , 2006, Science.

[4]  Harald Giessen,et al.  Three-dimensional photonic metamaterials at optical frequencies. , 2008, Nature materials.

[5]  Mehdi Ammi,et al.  Flexible Microscope Calibration using Virtual Pattern for 3-D Telemicromanipulation , 2005, Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[6]  Philippe Lutz,et al.  Robotic microassembly and micromanipulation at FEMTO-ST , 2013 .

[7]  David J. Cappelleri,et al.  Towards flexible, automated microassembly with caging micromanipulation , 2013, 2013 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[8]  Brahim Tamadazte,et al.  Robotic Micromanipulation and Microassembly Using Monoview and Multiscale Visual Servoing , 2011, IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics.

[9]  David R. Smith,et al.  Metamaterial Electromagnetic Cloak at Microwave Frequencies , 2006, Science.

[10]  Stéphane Régnier,et al.  Autonomous micromanipulation using a new strategy of accurate release by rolling , 2004, IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2004. Proceedings. ICRA '04. 2004.

[11]  Ron Pelrine,et al.  Diamagnetically levitated robots: An approach to massively parallel robotic systems with unusual motion properties , 2012, 2012 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[12]  Metin Sitti,et al.  Two-Dimensional Autonomous Microparticle Manipulation Strategies for Magnetic Microrobots in Fluidic Environments , 2012, IEEE Transactions on Robotics.

[13]  Anubhav Tripathi,et al.  Bio-Pick, Place, and Perfuse: A New Instrument for Three-Dimensional Tissue Engineering. , 2015, Tissue engineering. Part C, Methods.

[14]  Frank Niklaus,et al.  Wafer-Level Heterogeneous Integration for MOEMS, MEMS, and NEMS , 2011, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.

[15]  Howon Lee,et al.  Ultralight, ultrastiff mechanical metamaterials , 2014, Science.

[16]  Fumihito Arai,et al.  Three-dimensional bio-micromanipulation under the microscope , 2001, Proceedings 2001 ICRA. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.01CH37164).

[17]  Tobias Tiemerding,et al.  Automated Robotic Manipulation of Individual Colloidal Particles Using Vision-Based Control , 2015, IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics.

[18]  F. Caparrelli,et al.  A versatile vision system for micromanipulation tasks , 2001, Conference Documentation International Conference on Multisensor Fusion and Integration for Intelligent Systems. MFI 2001 (Cat. No.01TH8590).

[19]  Satyandra K. Gupta,et al.  Research in Automated Planning and Control for Micromanipulation , 2013, IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering.

[20]  R. Pelrine,et al.  Optimal control of diamagnetically levitated milli robots using automated search patterns , 2016, 2016 International Conference on Manipulation, Automation and Robotics at Small Scales (MARSS).

[21]  R. Pelrine.  Room temperature, open-loop levitation of microdevices using diamagnetic materials , 1990, IEEE Proceedings on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems, An Investigation of Micro Structures, Sensors, Actuators, Machines and Robots..

[22]  H. Giessen,et al.  Three-dimensional metamaterials at optical frequencies , 2008, 2008 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics and 2008 Conference on Quantum Electronics and Laser Science.

[23]  R. Pelrine,et al.  Application of micro-robots for building carbon fiber trusses , 2016, 2016 International Conference on Manipulation, Automation and Robotics at Small Scales (MARSS).