Development of a high resolution wireless mobile microrobot

The paper describes a novel mobile microrobot based on deformations of piezoelectric elements. Three drive units are involved in this microrobot system, each consists of two piezoelectric elements. Different from existing microrobots, the mechanism uses rolling frictional forces instead of sliding frictional forces for actuation. With the three legs arranged around a circle every 120 degree, the microrobot can achieve translation along any direction, or rotate round its center on the plane. Besides, it is easy to get a motion in vertical direction by extending or contracting all piezo elements simultaneously. Based on this driving principle, the authors have developed some prototypes with high resolution. Since there are some drawbacks with these microrobots with wires, a wireless version is under developing. With the help of displace and force sensors, semi-automated micromanipulation can be obtained. The paper particularly discusses the microrobot´s structure, driving principle, and its teleoperation system.