The Frontiers of Micro and Nanorobotic Systems

A special issue of Robotics (ISSN 2218-6581).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 April 2014) | Viewed by 20950

Special Issue Editor

Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center (BSAC), University of California, 373 Cory Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Interests: MEMS; microrobotics; path-planning; microfluidics; sensor networks

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There is little doubt that robotic systems that operate at nano-, and micrometer scales will enable tremendous advances in areas such as medicine, information security, and microassembly. Surmounting inherent limitations imposed by scaling laws in these robotic systems require creative solutions that challenge the definition of robotics. This special issue highlights current advances in micro- and nanorobotics, focusing on recent developments and trends that will shape the field in the coming decade. Original contributions are sought that touch on some of the following categoris: micro- or nanorobotic systems and application, biomimemtic micro-/nanorobotics, novel actuation methods for micro-/nanorobots, assembly of micro-/nanorobotic systems, physical modeling of micro/nano scale phenomenon for micro-/nanorobotic applications.

Dr. Igor Paprotny
Guest Editor

Submission

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (N.B. Conference papers may only be submitted if the paper was not originally copyrighted and if it has been extended substantially and completely re-written). All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Robotics is an international peer-reviewed Open Access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. For the first couple of issues the Article Processing Charge (APC) will be waived for well-prepared manuscripts. English correction and/or formatting fees of 250 CHF (Swiss Francs) will be charged in certain cases for those articles accepted for publication that require extensive additional formatting and/or English corrections.

Keywords

  • MEMS
  • microrobotics
  • nanoraobotics
  • microassembly
  • biomimetic
  • self-assembly
  • nanoactuators

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

844 KiB  
Article
A Magnetic Microrobot with in situ Force Sensing Capabilities
by Wuming Jing and David Cappelleri
Robotics 2014, 3(2), 106-119; https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics3020106 - 08 Apr 2014
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 9195
Abstract
This paper presents a proof-of-concept prototype of a micro force sensing mobile microrobot. The design consists of a planar, elastic mechanism serving as computer vision-based force sensor module, while the microrobot body is made from a magnetic layer driven by a magnetic field. [...] Read more.
This paper presents a proof-of-concept prototype of a micro force sensing mobile microrobot. The design consists of a planar, elastic mechanism serving as computer vision-based force sensor module, while the microrobot body is made from a magnetic layer driven by a magnetic field. From observing the deformation of the elastic mechanism, manipulation forces can be determined. The deformation is tracked by a CCD camera attached to an optical microscope. This design is validated through experimental tests with a micromachined prototype. The preliminary results verify this first microrobot prototype is indeed capable of in situ force sensing. This concept can be scaled down further for next generation designs and can be designed for real biomedical applications on microscale. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Frontiers of Micro and Nanorobotic Systems)
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616 KiB  
Article
A Miniature Robot for Retraction Tasks under Vision Assistance in Minimally Invasive Surgery
by Giuseppe Tortora, Tommaso Ranzani, Iris De Falco, Paolo Dario and Arianna Menciassi
Robotics 2014, 3(1), 70-82; https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics3010070 - 05 Mar 2014
Cited by 39 | Viewed by 11378
Abstract
Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) is one of the main aims of modern medicine. It enables surgery to be performed with a lower number and severity of incisions. Medical robots have been developed worldwide to offer a robotic alternative to traditional medical procedures. New [...] Read more.
Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) is one of the main aims of modern medicine. It enables surgery to be performed with a lower number and severity of incisions. Medical robots have been developed worldwide to offer a robotic alternative to traditional medical procedures. New approaches aimed at a substantial decrease of visible scars have been explored, such as Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES). Simple surgical tasks such as the retraction of an organ can be a challenge when performed from narrow access ports. For this reason, there is a continuous need to develop new robotic tools for performing dedicated tasks. This article illustrates the design and testing of a new robotic tool for retraction tasks under vision assistance for NOTES. The retraction robots integrate brushless motors to enable additional degrees of freedom to that provided by magnetic anchoring, thus improving the dexterity of the overall platform. The retraction robot can be easily controlled to reach the target organ and apply a retraction force of up to 1.53 N. Additional degrees of freedom can be used for smooth manipulation and grasping of the organ. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Frontiers of Micro and Nanorobotic Systems)
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