Collaborative Micromanipulation: Magnetically Navigated Microrobots and Motorized Micromanipulator
This project proposes a novel manipulation system (MM) to perform the compliant and dexterity manipulation of small objects in a confined space. The system consists of a magnetically navigated microrobot (MNM) and a non-ferromagnetic tip held by a motorized micromanipulator (MM) worked together to manipulate a tiny object. Both manipulators have three-degrees-of-freedom motion. The MNM is levitated in a 28mm airgap with 10um accuracy. In a manipulation task, the MNM is force controlled with a position-based impedance controller to regulate the holding force on the manipulated object. A magnetic flux measurement-based off-board force determination mechanism was developed to provide feedback force to the impedance controller. The proposed automatic pick-and-place system has a potential application in the field of microinjection as the size of the MNM is downscaled to micrometres. The MNM can be used as the holding equipment, while the motorized micromanipulator can be implemented as the holder of the injector.
