Design and implementation of an illumination system for microrobotic paper fiber studies

This paper discusses design and implementation of an illumination system for microrobotic manipulation of natural fibrous materials, such as paper fibers. Three different illumination types potentially suitable for this imaging task are discussed and prototypes are built for further testing. The final illumination system is implemented based on the test results. It uses polarized light and it is integrated to the sample holder of a microrobotic platform. The final system provides an excellent contrast between the fibers and the background.