Towards a Comprehensive and Robust Micromanipulation System with Force-Sensing and VR Capabilities

Abstract

In this modern world, with the increase of complexity of many technologies, especially in the micro and nanoscale, the field of robotic manipulation has tremendously grown. Microrobots and other complex microscale systems are often to laborious to fabricate using standard microfabrication techniques, therefore there is a trend towards fabricating them in parts then assembling them together, mainly using micromanipulation tools. Here, a comprehensive and robust micromanipulation platform is presented, in which four micromanipulators can be used simultaneously to perform complex tasks, providing the user with an intuitive environment. The system utilizes a vision-based force sensor to aid with manipulation tasks and it provides a safe environment for biomanipulation. Lastly, virtual reality (VR) was incorporated into the system, allowing the user to control the probes from a more intuitive standpoint and providing an immersive platform for the future of micromanipulation.

Fabrication and optical manipulation of micro-robots for biomedical applications

“…In addition, haptic constraints can be generated based on the user's eye gaze to control the position of the micro-objects for micro-assembly. Force-sensing combined with Virtual Reality visualization can provide users with intuitive control when performing complex tasks [130].…”

Design and Characterization of a Fully 3D Printed Vision-Based Micro-Force Sensor for Microrobotic Applications

“…Taking inspiration from our previous design of a vision-based micro-force sensor (µVBFS) [18], [19], a similar sensor design was fabricated here using the 2PP principles, taking advantage of the capabilities mentioned earlier. Figure 1 shows a schematic of the overall sensor design with its rigid body and compliant spring-like structure, along with critical dimensions.…”

“…To showcase the µVBFS capabilities, the sensor was utilized to measure the stiffness of approximately 2 mm diameter salmon eggs, used here as larger scale cell analog. For this experiment, the force sensor was attached to the end of a micromanipulator probe [19], [18] so it can be precisely guided to the egg outer wall and then perform controlled force exertion for the characterization. The egg itself is secured to a glass slide substrate to prevent it from sliding and making sure all the applied force translates into outer wall deflection.…”

Path Planning for 3-D In-Hand Manipulation of Micro-Objects Using Rotation Decomposition

“…In order to perform fingers’ path planning, we assume that the object’s shape is known through its Computer-Aided Design model (CAD model). Considering the small size of the manipulated object, we also assume that the fingers are placed on their respective 3-D translation stages as it is widely done in robotic micromanipulation (e.g., in [ 24 ]) and that the translation ranges are significantly larger than the object’s dimensions. We also consider only two and three fingers grasps.…”