NRI-Small: Robust, highly-mobile MEMS micro-robots based on integration of piezoelectric and polymer materials

该奖项的研究目标是集成聚合物和压电微结构，以创建强大的亚厘米级陆地微型机器人，并使用建模和实验相结合的方法来评估此类机器人的腿部动力学。 具体而言，高纵横比聚对二甲苯弯曲机制将与薄膜锆钛酸铅（PZT）致动器集成在复杂的，多自由度的微型机器人腿关节。实验测量聚对二甲苯结构响应集成薄膜PZT致动或外部大块PZT陶瓷或负载传感器致动将被用来表征聚对二甲苯刚度和阻尼特性在不同的应变率，相对于高应变率压电致动。体微加工硅沟槽表面和PZT/金属叠层之间的粘附力也将进行评估。 测量的聚对二甲苯特性将被纳入PI和学生开发的现有微型机器人脚部地形模型中，以生成PZT聚合物机器人的仿真模型，这些模型可以针对实验机器人原型进行验证。这项工作的成功完成将极大地提高步行毫米级微型机器人在不平坦地形上移动的能力，从而增加人类操作员与工程或自然系统之间可能的交互范围。 毫米级自主机器人的目标用户群体包括灾难响应团队、基础设施维护和监控人员以及国家安全组织。 将部署的框架将是一种技术，以嵌入压电微致动器的弹性微型机器人附件，生产样品步行微型机器人平台。这项研究的结果将纳入本科和研究生课程以及中学教育。 后一项工作将包括PI开发的互动式动手和基于网络的项目，用于当地密歇根州伊普西兰蒂学区和更广泛的感兴趣的公民社区的科学教育。

The research objective of this award is to integrate polymer and piezoelectric micro-structures to create robust, sub-centimeter terrestrial micro-robots, and to use a combination of modeling and experimentation to evaluate leg dynamics of such robots. Specifically, high-aspect ratio parylene flexural mechanisms will be integrated with thin-film lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) actuators in complex, multi-degree-of-freedom micro-robotic leg joints. Experimental measurements of parylene structure response to integrated thin-film PZT actuation or external bulk PZT ceramic or load cell actuation will be used to characterize parylene stiffness and damping characteristics at varying strain rates, relative to high-strain rate piezoelectric actuation. Adhesion between bulk-micromachined silicon trench surfaces and PZT/metal stack layers will also be evaluated. Measured parylene properties will then be incorporated into existing micro-robotic foot-terrain models developed by the PI and students to produce simulation models of PZT-polymer robots that can be validated against experimental robot prototypes. Successful completion of this work would dramatically improve the ability of walking millimeter-scale micro-robots to move over uneven terrain, thus increasing the range of possible interactions between human operators and engineered or natural systems. The target user community for millimeter-scale autonomous robots includes disaster response teams, infrastructure maintenance and monitoring workers, and national security organizations. The framework to be deployed would be a technique to embed piezoelectric microactuators in resilient micro-robotic appendages, producing sample walking micro-robot platforms. Results from this research would be coupled into both undergraduate and graduate curriculum and secondary school education. The latter effort will consist of interactive hands-on and web-based projects developed by the PI for use in science education for the local Ypsilanti, Michigan school district and the broader community of interested citizens.