Manipulation tasks with actuator arrays fabricated in MEMS (micro electro mechanical system) technology can be modeled by the theory of programmable force elds, which describes the forces generated by the actuators as planar vector elds. Given a task (e.g., unique positioning of a part) and a part geometry, we develop algorithms that automatically generate the corresponding manipulation plans a...

In the biomedical field, the precise operation is required to achieve cell injection and genome analysis. To enhance these technologies, the special instrument with higher accuracy can provide the solution to these requirement. Several sophisticated instruments have been developed and some of them are equipped with the advanced sensor and actuator. In the meantime, the micro robotics has the po...

Conjugated polymer actuators can be employed to achieve micro and nano scale precision, and have a wide range of applications including biomimetic robots, and biomedical devices. In comparison to robotic joints, they do not have friction or backlash, but on the other hand, they have complicated electro-chemomechanical dynamics which makes modelling and control of the actuator really difficult. ...

Although several types of locomotive microrobots have been developed, most of them have difficulty locomoting on uneven surfaces. Thus, we have been focused on microrobots that can locomote using step patterns. We are studying insect-type microrobot systems. The locomotion of the microrobot is generated by rotational movements of the shape memory alloy-type rotary actuator. In addition, we have...

We report on the design, modeling, fabrication and testing of a new electrothermal actuator allowing for various modes of movement and exhibiting large enough forces to be usable in a micro-tribotester. The performance of the actuator has been simulated combiniig numerical and analytical calculations. Experiments have been performed in ambient conditions and vacuum. The theoretical results and ...

This paper addresses the static and dynamic stabilities of a parametrically excited torsional micro-actuator. The system is composed of a rectangular micro-mirror symmetrically suspended between two electrodes and acted upon by a steady (dc ) while simultaneously superimposed to an (ac ) voltage. First, the stability of the system subjected to a quasi-statically applied (dc ) voltage is investi...

One motivating application of this technology is the development of a tactile display interface, where discrete mechanical actuators apply vibratory excitation at discrete locations on the skin. Specifically, this paper describes the development fabrication and characterization of a 4 x 4 micro-actuator array of vibrating pixels for fingertip tactile communication. The vibrting pixels are gener...