Untethered microscale flight: mechanisms and platforms for future aerial MEMS microrobots

Abstract

This paper describes initial work on untethered microscale flying structures as a platform for new class of aerial MEMS microrobots. We present and analyze both biomimetic structures based partially on wing designs of smallest flying insects on Earth, as well as stress-engineered structures powered by radiometric (thermal) forces. The latter devices, also called MEMS Microfliers are 300 μm × 300 μm × 1.5 μm in size, and are fabricated out of polycrystalline silicon. A convex chassis, formed through a novel in-situ masked post-release stress-engineering process, ensures their static inflight stability. High-speed optical micrography was used to image these MEMS microfliers in mid-flight, analyzing their flight profile.

A flexible cable-shaped supercapacitor based on carbon fibers coated with graphene flakes for wearable electronic applications

“…Meng et al reported a polymer-based thin supercapacitor with carbon nanotube (CNT)/polyaniline (PANI) nanocomposite electrodes using an electropolymerization method [12]. Some other groups presented printed planar supercapacitor using different printing method [13][14][15][16]. However, in these works, the deposited electrode materials were exposed, which can easily be detached from their substrates and nonelastic substrates were applied, which limit their use in wearable electronic applications [17][18].…”