Microrobotics for Micromanipulation [Hardcover]

Microrobotics is an emerging and booming area with many and various applications, including in fields such as industrial/manufacturing robotics, medical robotics, and laboratory instrumentation.

Microrobotics for Micromanipulation presents for the first time, in detail, a treatment of the field of robotics dedicated to handling objects of micrometer dimensions. At these dimensions, the behavior of objects is significantly different from the better known, larger scales, which leads to implementation techniques that can be radically different from the more commonly used solutions.

This book details the behaviors of objects at the micrometer scale and provides robotics solutions that are suitable, in terms of actuators, grippers, manipulators, environmental perception, and microtechnology. Worked examples are included in the book - enabling engineers, students and researchers to familiarize themselves with this emerging area and to contribute to its development.

Foreword xvii

Introduction xxi

Chapter 1. The Physics of the Microworld 1
Michael GAUTHIER, Pierre LAMBERT and Stephane REGNIER

1.1. Introduction 1

1.2.Details of the microworld 4

1.3.Surface forces 8

1.4.Contact forces 40

1.5. Experimental analysis of forces for micromanipulation 48

1.6.Forces in liquidmedia 60

1.7. Friction and roughness 78

1.8.Relevant parameters and indicators 85

1.9.Exercises 88

1.10.List of symbols 95

Chapter 2. Actuators for Microrobotics 99
Nicolas CHAILLET, Moustapha HAFEZ and Pierre LAMBERT

2.1. Introduction 99

2.2.Principles of motion and guiding 100