Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) and Microrobots

clipped from www.vnunet.com Microbots dance on the head of a pin Developed at Duke University, each micro-robot is shaped like a spatula but with dimensions measuring just microns, or millionths of a metre. They are almost 100 times smaller than any previous robotic designs of their kind and weigh even less. In videos produced by the team, two micro-robots can be seen pirouetting to the music of a Strauss waltz on a dance floor just 1mm across. clipped from www.cs.duke.edu The Video: AVI with Cinepac Radius 157 MB clipped from www.cs.duke.edu Igor Paprotny and Bruce Donald with 1,000x scale models of our micro-robots While so far MEMS research has been biased more towards sensor technology, there are a large number of potential applications that require micro actuators. Important examples are techniques to efficiently move, sort, or mix small particles (e.g. cells in biotechnology applications); or micro positioning devices for inspection and assembly of complex micro systems (e.g. for display or amplifier arrays).

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Microbots dance on the head of a pin - vnunet.com
Donald Lab at Duke University
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Dartmouth TR2005-553
Microbotics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia