The first textbook on micron-scale mobile robotics, introducing the
fundamentals of design, analysis, fabrication, and control, and drawing
on case studies of existing approaches.
Progress in micro- and nano-scale science and technology has created a
demand for new microsystems for high-impact applications in healthcare,
biotechnology, manufacturing, and mobile sensor networks. The new
robotics field of microrobotics has emerged to extend our interactions
and explorations to sub-millimeter scales. This is the first textbook on
micron-scale mobile robotics, introducing the fundamentals of design,
analysis, fabrication, and control, and drawing on case studies of
existing approaches.
The book covers the scaling laws that can be used to determine the
dominant forces and effects at the micron scale; models forces acting on
microrobots, including surface forces, friction, and viscous drag; and
describes such possible microfabrication techniques as
photo-lithography, bulk micromachining, and deep reactive ion etching.
It presents on-board and remote sensing methods, noting that remote
sensors are currently more feasible; studies possible on-board
microactuators; discusses self-propulsion methods that use
self-generated local gradients and fields or biological cells in liquid
environments; and describes remote microrobot actuation methods for use
in limited spaces such as inside the human body. It covers possible
on-board powering methods, indispensable in future medical and other
applications; locomotion methods for robots on surfaces, in liquids, in
air, and on fluid-air interfaces; and the challenges of microrobot
localization and control, in particular multi-robot control methods for
magnetic microrobots. Finally, the book addresses current and future
applications, including noninvasive medical diagnosis and treatment,
environmental remediation, and scientific tools.
