An Overview of Microrobotic Systems for Microforce Sensing

Abstract

Considering microbotics, microforce sensing, their working environment, and their control architecture together, microrobotic force-sensing systems provide the potential to outperform traditional stand-alone approaches. Microrobotics is a unique way for humans to control interactions between a robot and micrometer-size samples by enabling the control of speeds, dynamics, approach angles, and localization of the contact in a highly versatile manner. Many highly integrated microforce sensors attempt to measure forces occurring during these interactions. However, they are highly difficult to predict because the forces strongly depend on many environmental and system parameters. This article discusses state-of-the-art microrobotic systems for microforce sensing, considering all of these factors. It starts by presenting the basic principles of microrobotic microforce sensing, robotics, and control. It then discusses the importance of microforce sensor calibration and active microforce-sensing techniques. Finally, it provides an overview of microrobotic microforce-sensing systems and applications, including both tethered and untethered microrobotic approaches. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Control, Robotics, and Autonomous Systems, Volume 7 is May 2024. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

In-situ SEM Microrobotics for Versatile Force/Deformation Characterization: Application to Third-Body MoS2 Wear Particles

“…This absence poses a challenge, as many fields require precise force measurements at small scales to ensure the comparability of obtained results. As highlighted in [23], laboratories are developing their own processes to compensate for this lack, and three primary methods are commonly employed to calibrate force sensors in the context of a tethered robotic system. They all rely on applying a determined reference force along the measured direction of the sensor to be calibrated, assuming the reference force and force estimated by the sensor to be equal.…”

“…Indeed, the complexity and dimensions of these particles (micrometersized non-identical 3D structures) necessitate advanced tools and robotic strategies to achieve a complete sequence of tasks within the SEM environment. Adam et al [10] also highlighted the importance to consider force sensors and robots together when doing microrobotic based force sensing while Govillas et al [11] shown the strong influence of angular imperfections during compression tests. Specific strategies can also be investigated based on accurate force and or position dynamic measurement to succeed in achieving complex tasks at the microscale [12,13].…”