Collaborative Research: Motion Control of Bacteria-Powered Microrobots

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The research objective of this award is to understand the control of bacterial propulsion systems, and to demonstrate the enabling technologies necessary for the feedback control of bacteria-actuated microstructures. Bacteria are ideal systems for many microbiorobotic systems, because of the ease of their ?gproduction and refueling?h. For this purpose, microbiorobots (MBRs) are constructed, which consist of flagellated bacteria integrated with fabricated microstructures. The bacterial cells propel the microstructures in fluidic environments. In this project, some design aspects for the MBRs are explored, including the effects of bacterial density, distribution and orientation on the surface of the MBRs, as well as various modalities to control the bacteria. A number of stimuli, including ultraviolet light, electromagnetic field, chemicals, and thermal stimuli are used as control inputs to the MBRs, while measurement feedback is provided by a computer vision-based system. Deliverables include mathematical models of the system behavior, experimental results on the bacteria morphology, microscopy visualization, prototypical demonstration of motion control, documentation of research results, engineering student education, and engineering research experiences for high school students and teachers.If successful, the outcome of this research will represent a critical step toward understanding how to control bacterial propulsion systems to manipulate larger engineered elements, for example in microassembly and micromanipulation scenarios. Graduate and undergraduate engineering students will benefit from this project through classroom instruction and involvement in the research. The program will also be integrated with various outreach activities, including (i) microbiorobotics workshops at Drexel and RPI, (ii) active recruitment and training of women and under?]represented minority engineers by leveraging and expanding existing and proven programs already in place at Drexel and RPI, (iii) outreach to high school students and teachers at RPI, and (iv) interactive web?]based tutorials and exhibits.