Daigo Misaki

Multi-axial micromanipulation organized by versatile micro robots and micro tweezers

In this paper, we describe development of the multi-axial micromanipulation organized by versatile micro robots using micro tweezers. To conduct microscopic operations, a unique locomotion mechanism composed of four piezoelectric actuators and two electromagnets is proposed. Here two legs arranged to cross each other are connected by four piezoelectric actuators so that the robot can move in any direction, i.e. in X and Y directions as well as rotate at the specified point precisely in the manner of an inchworm. To manipulate micro objects by these versatile micro robots, we have developed micro tweezers driven by 3 piezoelectric actuators. We have also developed an electromagnetic spherical micromanipulator to position the micro tweezers. The electromagnetic spherical micromanipulator rotates in yaw, roll and pitch directions independently. The electromagnetic spherical micromanipulator is a 1-inch cube size, so we can easily attach them on top of the versatile micro robots. We have developed the multi-axial micromanipulation organized by 3 versatile micro robots with the electromagnetic spherical micromanipulator and micro tweezers. The whole manipulation device is very small, 200 mm in diameter and 70 mm in height, so we can easily attach the device to micro processing instruments even if the working area is very small. This device has 21 DOF with less than 100 nm resolution. In experiments, we have demonstrated flexible handling of miniscule glass spheres with a diameter of 20 mum. We have also succeeded in fixing miniscule glass spheres on a sample table by an ultraviolet cure adhesive. The design procedure, basic performance and micro-assembling applications of this tiny robot are also discussed as part of the new field of micro robotics requiring especially high precision in certain regions.

Micro hopping robot with IR sensor for disaster survivor detection

Collapsed buildings due to earthquake or terrorist attack typically result in a rubble pile with access holes less than 1 foot in diameter. The necessity of producing smaller robots which can locate survivors quickly is evident in light of recent disasters and attacks. In the reported research, instead of developing one or two expensive robots, the proposed concept is to manufacture thousands of less expensive micro robots (<

Development of the Orthogonal Micro Robot for Accurate Microscopic Operations

10/micro robot) which can access small openings in the rubble pile. Therefore, the probability of locating survivors increases exponentially due to the exponential increase in the number of robots and because these smaller micro robots can move through small openings which larger robots are not be able to access. Key to the approach is to place the micro robots at the top of the rubble heap so that little energy is consumed as the micro robots search downward (carried by gravity) when not utilizing their own power source. In this report, small hopping robots which have a simple locomotion mechanism and IR sensory elements have been developed to detect survivors under collapsed buildings. This small robot includes micro eccentric motors for generating lift and thrust forces, and IR sensors for detecting the thermal signal of survivors. Therefore, the micro robot can crawl without any wheels or legs even on small, rough terrain with the help of eccentric mechanical vibration. This tiny robot also has the ability of self-righting to allow it to keep moving to the target even if it falls and lands in any position. Weight balance as well as resonance parameters are very important to achieve good mobility. Automatic navigation to the target is achieved with simple on-off motor switching. The simple design layout results in not only lightweight robots but also low cost allowing employment of a large number of robots in the dangerous rubble field. Initially, a small robot utilizing off-the-shelf components (i.e. micro motors, button batteries, sensors and electronics) was designed and assembled to verify feasibility for rescue operations. In the initial experiments, many small robots with optical and IR sensors have been developed and movement toward a human body under zero light conditions has been successfully demonstrated.

Desktop Micro Machining System by Multiple Micro Robots

In this paper, we describe development of an orthogonal micro robot for accurate microscopic operations. In order to provide microscopic operation, the simple locomotion mechanism which is composed of one piezoelectric actuator and two U-shaped electromagnets is proposed. Here two U-shaped electromagnets guided by a pair of v-grooves are connected by a piezoelectric actuator so that it can move in one axis precisely. This simple one-axis micro robot moves like inchworm with less than 100 nm resolution. We attach permanent magnets on the electromagnets so that this robot can fix itself on a steel surface even if we do not apply the current to electromagnets. In order to provide XY orthogonal positioning, we connect one micro robot to another micro robot orthogonally. In order to realize cell-processing, we attach the three orthogonal micro robots on an inverted microscope. Here we attach a micro pump to a left micro robot to hold biological samples such as an egg cell. We attach another micro pump to a right micro robot to inject to biological samples. We arrange another micro robot between other two micro robots to position samples. The whole cell-processing device is very small, so we can easily attach the whole device to micro processing instruments. We have developed the special control software with visual feedback control so that each motion could be controlled by a simple mouse click on a PC or joysticks. In experiments, we demonstrated to hold an egg cell whose diameter is 100 mum and inject the pipette whose diameter is 5 mum to the egg cell under the collaboration of these orthogonal micro robots. We have confirmed that this unique micro robotic device has much of potential for actual use to various micro manipulation, such as artificial inseminatation and positioning of miniscule parts of portable devices. The design procedure, basic performance and collaboration with versatile micro robots are also discussed to open the new field for micro-robotics in precision region.

Precise automatic guiding and positioning of micro robots with a fine tool for microscopic operations

This paper describes the unique micro machining system performed by mutiple microrobots. These microrobots, which are composed of piezo elements and electromagnets, can move precisely with the manner of an inchworm on the steel plate. And these robots are equipped with the micro tools such micro drill and micro indentor to provide various micro works with much of flexible layout on the desktop. In this report, two typical applications are to be demonstrated. One of them is that two small robots can collaborate to make thin through-hole of 50 micron under the combination of global and local path control. Here the sample plate attached on the small robot can be positioned precisely to the other robot with micro drill tool, and the relative position between the sample and the tool can be controlled under the local navigation system to get such micro hole. The other application is that the small robot with micro hopping indentor can make array of micro indentation on the sample plate and automatically convey them under the microscope to inspect it

Development of a positioning & compensation device for a versatile micro robot

In this paper, we describe the newly-developed microscopic operation system assisted by one cubic inch sized micro robots under an inverted microscope. These micro robots, which are composed of piezo elements, are capable of moving in any direction, i.e. in X and Y directions as well as precisely rotate at the specified point. And they can convey several surgical fine tools such as a holding pipette and injection pipette so that they can execute flexible operations in a bio-cell while the well-trained operator can conventionally manage this operation. To automate these operations in the bio-cell, the tiny robots can be navigated and positioned by the combination of two styles of coordination measurement. At first as a coarse navigation manner, several micro robots can be guided into the range of the microscope from the arbitrary positions based on the analog signal feedback used by a PSD sensor. And then the microscopic operations can be carried out by monitoring the position of fine tools by analyzing the microscopic images obtained from the CCD camera. The experimental results show that the proposed system succeeds in maneuvering these small robots to provide microscopic operations.

Development of micro rescue robot-human detection

In this paper, we describe the design and development of a positioning and compensation device for a versatile micro robot. To provide microscopic operations, the versatile micro robot has developed. The robot can move in any direction in the manner of an inchworm. However many positioning errors exist because of an assembling error in the four piezoelectric actuators and two electromagnets. We need an automatic positioning device for more accurate work. Motion compensation is also highly required for more effective work. This robot is very small, so it can easily be set to work with the various devices. The positing device should also be small so that we can carry the device easily and set it up in a narrow working area. In this report, we propose a USB camera based positioning device with special compensation function. In experiments, we succeeded in controlling the robot on an octagonal path with controlling the posture angle freely. When we compensate for the motion, the positioning time becomes 60 % compared to that of no compensation. The design procedure, basic performance and biomedical application are also discussed as an advance in the new field of micro-robotics used in precision regions.

Automatic micro-indentation and inspection system by piezo driven micro robot with multiple inner sensors

In this report, small hopping robots which have a simple locomotion mechanism and IR sensor module have been developed to detect human under collapsed buildings. This small robot includes micro eccentric motors for generating lift and thrust forces, and IR sensors for detecting the thermal signal of human. Therefore, the micro robot can crawl without any wheels or legs even on small, rough terrain with the help of eccentric mechanical vibration. This tiny robot also has the ability of self-righting to allow it to keep moving to the target even if it falls and lands in any position. Weight balance as well as resonance parameters are very important to achieve good mobility. Automatic navigation to the target is achieved with simple on-off motor switching. The simple design layout results in not only lightweight robots but also low cost allowing employment of a large number of robots in the dangerous rubble field. Initially, a small robot utilizing off-the-shelf components (i.e. micro motors, button batteries, sensors and electronics) was designed and assembled to verify feasibility for rescue operations. In the initial experiments, many small robots with optical and IR sensors have been developed and movement toward a human body under zero light conditions has been successfully demonstrated.

Insect based automatic precise navigation of piezo driven micro robots for artificial insemination

In this report, it is described that a fully automatic micro-indentation and inspection system performed by piezo driven micro robot with multiple inner sensors. In the process of micro-indentation, the sample can be transported to the micro indentation tool on the reference block to provide array of micro indentation. After completing the micro tooling, the sample can be also conveyed to the other location in which the microscope is focusing precisely. The small robot that is equipped with optical surface gauging devices can navigate to the specified position with the manner of dead reckoning. Thus the sample that is given the micro indentation can be transported from the machining port to the inspection port automatically. In order to fix the sample within the focus zone of the microscope, the small robot also can be maneuvered precisely with the help of the closed loop positioning property based on the eddy current distance sensor signal. In the experiments, the basic performances such as the dead reckoning navigation based on the surface gauged position and the closed loop final positioning with the distance sensors as well as the combination of dead-reckoning navigation and local position feedback manner are demonstrated. At last, it is concluded that the combination of two kinds of inner sensories based navigation can provide the accurate path navigation over the wider working range to achieve the micro production system by micro robots system without such the global visual image tracking instrument.

PRECISE MICRO ROBOT BIO CELL MANIPUTATION BASED ON THE MICROSCOPIC IMAGE RECONGIOTION

The small size robots less that 1 cubic inch have the potential benefits with the special tasks of such the facility maintenances and the microscopic operation with sub micron resolution as well. For these years, our group have been developed unique piezo driven tiny robots for precise production. However it is difficult to carry out precise artificial insemination robot manually from the problem of measuring accurate coordinate positions or over range of microscopic field. Here it has been also increased that the demand for automatic fine manipulation for bio cell surgeries. This paper describes the insect based precise navigation for the piezo driven micro robots system to provide the automatic insemination and incubation processes. These small robots with several range sensors can communicate each other and navigate themselves with the simple control sequences similar to insect behavior. In the experiment results, it is demonstrated that the male and the female robots succeeded in executing accurate navigation, insemination and incubation by using a fish egg.