Integrated NanoTool Carrier A miniature mobile robot for the nano imaging and nano manipulation purposes Goal: Develop an autonomous mobile robot equipped with various exchangeable nano tools(e.g. drills, shears, saws, buckets, and grippers) by applying a novel ultra precise positioning strategy to improve the flexibility and versatility of existing nano imaging and manipulating facilities and also perform assigned nano missions in a cooperative and efficient way by colony of robots. Approach: The first stage of this research is the development of the precise positioning walking robot or true mobile tool carrier robot which can substitute for the conventional positioning XY-stage generally fixed on a workbench. Recent investigations have explored a variety of actuating principles by using the piezoelectric, thermal, electrostatic, or magnetostatic locomotive mechanism in order to achieve feasible and further controllable miniature mobile robots. Among them, piezoelectric actuators are attractive because of their high power efficiency, driving accuracy, and structural simplicity. Inspired by conventional ultrasonic motors (USM) and their excellent performances, the first prototype of the mobile frame will be constructed based on standing wave induction by the bending vibration of a composite piezo-metal plate so that the robot can be propelled by means of attached legs. Fully analytical working equations of the structure which guarantee the precise motion control will be derived at the same time. Important design issues such as strong bonding, leg size and shape, and material selection will be carefully considered also at this stage. Benefits: Miniature walking robots have various applications as transportation/positioning platforms for nano-tools such as probes for Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM), or for manipulation mechanisms. A significant advantage of such a suitably small-sized tool carrier would be the possibility of being able to employ multiple such robots as a team to simultaneously work on a material sample. From a structural point of view, this 2-D like robot structure can be micromachined by means of current MEMS fabrication technique, so more compact and miniaturized robots can be built and mass-produced by it. Videos: Video 1: Walking robot moving across a smooth surface. Video 2: Simulation: standing wave in PZT (robot moves right). Video 3: Simulation: standing wave in PZT (robot moves left). Members: Kwon Joong Son, Metin Sitti Papers:

[Functional Walker prototype] [Simulation of the standing wave pattern in PZT] [CAD model of the walker prototype]