RI: Medium: Light Responsive Polymer Magnetic Microrobots with Dual Mode Sensing for Biomedical and Advanced Manufacturing Applications

微型机器人在生物医学和先进制造业等领域有许多潜在的应用。虽然目前的微型机器人可以利用外部施加的磁场进行导航，但它们缺乏感知和操作限制了它们的能力。特别是，微力信息对于安全生物操作、传感生物过程和执行先进制造应用中的微装配任务至关重要。此外，可以感知电位和细胞连接的移动微型机器人将使治疗策略的表征和研究成为可能，有助于治疗各种癌症。作为计划外展活动的一部分，研究人员将与聋儿代码一起开发STEM外展项目，以帮助聋哑/有听力障碍的K-12学生。为此，该项目将创建一类具有主动末端执行器和双模传感能力的新型光响应聚合物磁性微型机器人（LRPMMs）。嵌入式磁体可以利用外部磁场控制微型机器人在工作空间中导航。主动末端执行器将由响应性聚合物制成，并由结构光模式驱动。将对聚合物结构进行校准，以便应用基于视觉的力传感技术。此外，电致变色特性将嵌入到聚合物中，以便通过其颜色的变化来检测环境中的电位水平。提出的研究任务包括LRPMMs的设计和制造；用于结构光驱动、传感和跟踪的光学系统开发；并进行了控制和实验验证。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Microrobots have many potential applications in applications as diverse as biomedical and advanced manufacturing. While current microrobots can navigate using externally applied magnetic fields, their lack of sensing and manipulation limit their capabilities. In particular, micro-force information is essential for safe biomanipulation, sensing biological processes, and performing microassembly tasks in advanced manufacturing applications. In addition, mobile microrobots that can sense electrical potentials and connections of cells will enable the characterization and study of therapeutic strategies, assisting in the treatment of various cancers. As part of the planned outreach activities, researchers will develop STEM outreach programs with Deaf Kids CODE to help empower deaf/hard of hearing K-12 students.To this end, the project will create a new class of light responsive polymer magnetic microrobots (LRPMMs) with active end-effectors and dual-mode sensing capabilities. An embedded magnetic body will enable the use of external magnetic fields to control microrobots to navigate in the workspace. The active end-effectors will be made from responsive polymers and actuated by structured light patterns. The polymer structures will be calibrated so vision-based force-sensing techniques can be applied. Additionally, electrochromic properties will be embedded into the polymers to enable detection of electrical potential levels in the environment through their change in color. The proposed research tasks include the design and fabrication of the LRPMMs; optical system development for structured light actuation, sensing, and tracking; and control and experimental validation.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.