Sensorless Force-controlled Magnetic Micromanipulation Technology

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Micromanipulation and microassembly deal with delicate environments. A magnetically levitated manipulator can provide a breakthrough solution, and perform these tasks with the advantages of dust-free and frictionless operation. The forces applied on these tiny and sensitive objects by the manipulator should be precisely controlled to avoid any possible damage. Therefore, force sensors should be employed, but when dealing with tiny objects, the implementation of force sensors is challenging and may not be feasible. This proposal aims to overcome these shortcomings by developing a novel Magnetically Levitated Micromanipulator (MLM). The MLM operates dust-free and without friction, and benefits from a force sensing method without the use of any actual force sensors. The proposed MLM technology can be applied in variety of applications such as structure microassembly, cleanroom operations, device fabrication, and packaging. Moreover, since the MLM propulsion is produced by transferring magnetic energy, it has the ability to manipulate objects inside completely sealed enclosures. The ability to remotely manipulate the microrobot in a sealed enclosure allows fields such as chemistry and biology the flexibility of full control within a sealed experiment (e.g., vacuum enclosure). This is ideal for sensitive ecosystem experiments as well as experiments involving harmful substances. Examples include gene manipulation and biohazardous handling of genetic material (e.g., recombinant DNA, bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi, etc.). Though the contaminated microrobots will be disposable, the magnetic field generators will remain uncontaminated to be reused. The proposed system would be suitable for experiments belonging to levels 3 and 4 of the biosafety risk group as classified by Health and Welfare Canada.