RI: Medium: Collaborative Research: Mobile Microrobot Platform for Advanced Manufacturing Applications

这项研究的目标是创建一个灵活的微型增材制造平台，利用一组不受约束的微型机器人和模块化的多功能积木来创建智能微型设备和结构。 外部施加的磁场通常用于单个磁性移动的微型机器人的动力和致动。 然而，为了在一组微型机器人中实现各个机器人的不同行为，它们的设计或施加到每个微型机器人的磁控信号必须有显著的变化。因此，这项研究的智力价值，在于从MEMS中创建专用磁势场生成衬底的新方法，制造的平面微线圈和相关的控制方法，以实现多个移动的微型机器人的真正独立的控制。 因此，本课题的研究目标是：微线圈及相关控制电子器件的设计与制造，移动的磁微机器人群的运动控制，磁微机器人群的运动控制，磁微机器人群的运动控制，磁微机器人群的运动控制，磁微机器人群的运动控制。以及磁性微型机器人和模块化组件的设计和制造，基于专业的微这些目标的成功完成将导致一个变革性的移动的微型机器人群平台，能够执行各种功能。先进的增材制造任务。 潜在的应用包括非常高密度的能量存储、高应变驱动、能量收集、非常低功率的通信设备以及具有集成传感器的复合结构。该项目更广泛的影响在于沿着一个教育议程，在工业界和学术界传播研究成果，该议程涵盖从K-12到研究生的相关外联活动。

The goal of this research is to create a flexible, micro-scale additive manufacturing platform utilizing a team of untethered micro-scale robots and modular, multifunctional building blocks to create smart micro-devices and structures. Externally applied magnetic fields are commonly used for the power and actuation of individual magnetic mobile microrobots. However, in order to achieve different behaviors from individual robots within a team of microrobots, there must be either significant variation in their design or in the magnetic control signals applied to each microrobot.The intellectual merit of this research, therefore, lies in the novel approach to create a specialized magnetic potential field generating substrate from MEMS-fabricated planar microcoils and the related control methodology to enable truly independent control of multiple mobile microrobots. Thus, the research objectives of the proposal are: the design and fabrication of the micro-coils and related control electronics; motion control for mobile magnetic microrobot swarms; and magnetic microrobot and modular component design and fabrication, based on specialized micro-components with various material properties and functions.Successful completion of the objectives will result in a transformative mobile microrobot swarm platform capable of executing various advanced additive manufacturing tasks. Potential applications include very high-density energy storage, high strain actuation, energy harvesting, very low power communications devices, and composite structures with integrated sensors. Further broader impacts of this project reside in disseminating the research output in industry and academia along with an educational agenda spanning related outreach activities from the K-12 through graduate levels.