Micro Contacts and Micro Manipulation with Mems Actuator Arrays

As improvements in fabrication technology for MEMS (micro electro mechanical systems) increase the availability and diversity of these micromachines, engineers are deening a growing number of tasks to which they can be put. The idea of carrying out tasks using coordinated systems of MEMS units motivates the development of automated, algorithmic methods for modeling, designing and controlling these devices. Parts contacts and parts handling at the micro scale pose new challenges to roboticists: With decreasing scale, forces proportional to the volume of objects (such as weight or inertia) decrease in comparison to surface forces (such as friction and sticking forces). We brieey describe these forces and discuss their eeects on micro parts handling. Then we give an overview of our work on micro manipulation strategies. We describe how arrays of MEMS devices can move and position tiny parts, such as integrated circuit chips, in exible and predictable ways by oscillatory or ciliary action. The theory of programmable force elds can model the contacts between parts and large numbers of microscopic actuators, leading to algorithms for various types of micromanipulation that require no sensing of where the part is. Experiments support the theory.