| EPSRC Reference: |
EP/S001425/1 |
| Title: |
Light Actuated Microrobots |
| Principal Investigator: |
Nezhad, Professor M |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Sch of Computer Science & Electronic Eng |
| Organisation: |
Bangor University |
| Scheme: |
EPSRC Fellowship - NHFP |
| Starts: |
25 June 2018 |
Ends: |
25 September 2022 |
Value (£): |
630,326
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Bioelectronic Devices |
Robotics & Autonomy |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
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| Related Grants: |
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| Panel History: |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
Micron-scale robotics is a nascent and exciting area of research that is currently experiencing considerably increased attention by the robotics, microengineering and bioengineering communities. Historically, the creation and control of minute
biomimetic structures capable of tethered or untethered movement has been the subject of works of fiction, a prominent example being the 1966 film/novel Fantastic Voyage, in which a microscale submarine is launched into a patient's blood
circulation system in order to operate on a blood clot. Farfetched as this may have seemed at the time, the tremendous advances in microtechnology since that time have made the fabrication of swarms of such micro-structures on a single
semiconductor chip a reality. A major driving motivation behind this research is the creation of artificial entities on the same size scale as biological organisms. This will lead to the development of microscale tools for numerous applications in
experimental cell biology such as cell sorting, manipulation, surgery and targeted drug delivery. These tools are expected to be advantageous compared to standard pipetting techniques currently being used. In addition, such microrobots can be used to manipulate nearfield imaging devices (such as microlenses) for nanoscale microscopy and imaging. Another interesting application of microbots is for fabrication of 3D functional materials and tissue engineering.
Operating at such small dimensions (a few hundred microns and smaller) is extremely challenging and will require the development of unique manufacturing, sensing, actuation and control tools and paradigms specific to the micro-scale
robotics arena. A major challenge in all microrobotic devices is the delivery of actuation energy to the microrobot. While efficient power delivery to any microscale robot is no small feat, this is exacerbated if the microrobot is to operate in an
untethered manner. An effective approach for actuation of a microrobot is to use the energy of a light beam. Laser light has been used since the 1970s for mechanical control of small particles, for example in optical tweezers and optical traps. However, the energy of photons in a laser beam can also be utilised directly to create mechanical motion, with the potential for higher energy conversion efficiencies. This fellowship award will support the development of novel light-driven microrobots that will be able to walk on a flat surface and perform simple manipulation tasks at the microscale.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.bangor.ac.uk |