Ant-Like Microrobots - Fast, Small, and Under Control

Abstract:

No robots at the sub--cm3 scale exist because their development faces a number of open challenges. This project focuses on identifying and determining means for solving these challenges. In addition, it is providing new solutions to outstanding questions about resource--constrained algorithms, architectures, and actuators that can be widely leveraged in other applications. So far, our work has discovered new fundamental principles, design methods, and technologies for realizing distributed networks of sub--cm3, ant--sized mobile microrobots that self--organize into cooperative configurations. The scope of the project involves work in:

• Distributed algorithms for distributed coordination and formation control under severe power, communication, and mobility constraints,
• Minimal electronics hardware for robot control using event--based
• communication and computation, ultra--low--power radio, and adaptive analog-- digital integrated circuits,
• Methods of locomotion and efficient actuators using rapid--prototyping and MEMS technologies that can operate robustly under real--world conditions,
• Integrating the algorithms, electronics, and actuators into a fleet of ant--size microrobots.

Results from our work could be used for applications as diverse as search and rescue during disaster relief efforts, manufacturing, warehouse management, ecological monitoring, intelligence and suveillance, infrastructure and equipment monitoring, metrology, and medical applications such as cell manipulation and microfactories. The project is now in a no--cost extension phase, and many of our results and activities are described in the web site for the project, which can be found at: http://antbot.ece.umd.edu/CPS Ant--
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