Contact us:
Behrad Khamesee
Professor and Director of Maglev Microrobotics Laboratory
Office: Engineering 3 (E3) 3148
Phone: 519-888-4567 ext. 35095
Email: khamesee@uwaterloo.ca
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Although magnetic levitation is mostly popular with its macro applications such as maglev trains, recently it is being used in the micro world, as well. Magnetic levitation completely eliminates friction and adhesion that are two big hurdles to be overcome in microscale systems. Our studies focus on magnetic levitation of Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) in an extended air-gap within a large working envelope. Combined with the unique advantage of dust-free operation of magnetic levitation, our systems can be used in micromanipulation in hazardous environments and microassembly of hybrid microsystems.
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.
This research aims at developing a novel technology to remotely manipulate biohazardous materials and specimens during implementation of a laboratory experiment using wireless microrobots.
Contact us:
Behrad Khamesee
Professor and Director of Maglev Microrobotics Laboratory
Office: Engineering 3 (E3) 3148
Phone: 519-888-4567 ext. 35095
Email: khamesee@uwaterloo.ca
The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is centralized within our Indigenous Initiatives Office.