Micro Robotics

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Micro Robotics
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• Dr. Heidi Fearn
• CLE Lecture 5
• April 11th Spring 2005

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We already Know about Drexlers dream of diamond
based nanomachines-http//science.howstuffworks.c
om/nanotechnology.htm/printable
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Here are some animations of the Drexlers gears
might work- computer animated.
http//science.howstuffworks.com/nanotechnology.ht
m/printable
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Humans still have a lot to learn about the idea
of constructing materials on such a small scale.
Consumer goods that we buy are made by pushing
piles of atoms together in a bulky, imprecise
manner. Imagine if we could manipulate each
individual atom of an object. That's the basic
idea of nanotechnology, and many scientists
believe that we are only a few decades away from
achieving it.
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What am I going to talk about today?
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• Micro robots for use in nuclear plants- crawl
  into small spaces that are otherwise
  inaccessible.
• Flying robots for use in surveillance and
  planetary exploration (Mars- NASA).
• Swimming robots- small enough to enter the body
  for highly localized drug delivery and screening
  for diseases
• Self reconfigurable robot- atomic unit modular.
• Control of a micro organism as a prototype
  micro-robot.

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So What Robots can we make now? And how big are
they??
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• MIT has a very active AI (artificial intelligence
  group) see links below
• http//www.csail.mit.edu/index.php
• http//www.ai.mit.edu/projects/livingmachines/o
  verview/overview.shtml
• There are many Universities and government
  agencies interested in tiny robots, eg. NASA,
  DARPA and the DOD. Lets start with the bigger
  robots and work our way down in scale.
• MIT groups Including Crystalline atomic unit
  modular self-reconfigurable robots.
• Case Western University group
• KTH Microsystems technology group
• Sandia Laboratory
• Nanorobotics Lab _at_ Carnegie Mellon University
• DARPA Microbot Homepage and NASA
• Berkeley for true micro robotics.

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Robots that fly, walk and hop.

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MIT group on AI and Roboticshttp//www.ai.mit.edu
/projects/living-machines/overview/overview.shtml
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OLD lab emblem
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MIT group http//www.csail.mit.edu/research/activ
ities/activities.htmlhttp//www.ai.mit.edu/projec
ts/humanoid-robotics-group/
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Cog
Macaco
Coco
Kismet
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MIT group continued- LEGS program.http//www.ai.m
it.edu/projects/leglab/navigation.html
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Uniroo
Crab
Turkey
Geekbot Study transfer Weight on feet
3D hopper, actively Balanced dynamic locomotion
3D biped, Hops, runs, Somersaults

• Flamingo uses
• feet and ankles

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Bug roboticsCase Western Reserve Univ.
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Biologically Inspired Robotics Lab. Micro-Cricket
Series of Robots http//biorobots.cwru.edu/project
s/c_mrobot/c_mrobot.htm
Cricket movie 5
Cricket movie 7
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Plenty more BUGS for you!!
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Robot II Uses bug instincts
Robot I
Slat robot II walking over slats
Robot III
Robot IV
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MINI-WHEGS Robots
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Jumping mini-Whegs movie Wings and legs Whegs.
Camera on the mini-robot
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Mini robots KTH Microsystems Technology Group
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Walking micro robot
Speed test micro robot
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So now lets walk up walls and walk on Mars and
fly too!!http//www.erg.msu.edu/microrobot/fr_mai
n.html
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Flipper is able to flip Over and the suction
cups allow it to literally walk up Walls.
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Walk and fly over Marshttp//robotics.jpl.nasa.go
v/tasks/nrover/nrt_main.htmlhttp//avdil.gtri.gat
ech.edu/RCM/RCM/Entomopter/EntomopterProject.html
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Entomopter movie Flying over Mars Biomimetrics
Nanorover Technology JPL Miniature Rover For
small body and planetary surface exploration.
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More flying machinesworlds smallest flying
beastie
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http//www.epson.co.jp/e/newsroom/news_2003_11_18_
2.htm
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Really tiny robots
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Japanese Robot 1999 measure 1cm long. US gov
engineers are also working on Robots that can
hover around a room. NASA Wants a spacecraft on
a chip. http//www.cnn.com/TECH/ptech/9907/13/jap
an.microrobot/
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Movie of the microbot In motion.
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Swimming robotics bugs http//www.me.cmu.edu/facu
lty1/sitti/nano/projects/swimming/
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Remember high viscosity at Small scales makes a
corkscrew Motion of propulsion far more Effective.
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and bugs that walk on water!!
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Little mini robots that change shape.http//www.m
it.edu/vona/xtal/xtal.html
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Dog changes into a couch!
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Control of microorganism as a prototype
micro-robot.http//robotics.eecs.berkeley.edu/ro
nf/UCYBORG/index.html
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Mobile devices built on the sub-millimeter scale
working in fluid Could be useful for manipulation
and testing of small biological Components.
Complete self-powered mobile systems exist in
the Form of simple single celled organisms.
Protozooans such as Paramecium provide a good
example- path planning using electric Potential
has been used to allow these creatures to solve a
simple Maze.
For more links see Nanorobotics Lab site at
Carnegie Mellon Univ. http//www.me.cmu.edu/facult
y1/sitti/nano/links/robotics.html
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THE END
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• DVDs to come later
• Nat. Geographic, The incredible human body
• Nova, Cracking the code of life.