Design of an autonomous micro robot

Abstract

The design of a wireless micro-robot is investigated. The robot consists of a distributed ciliary micro-motion system with electrostatic actuation. Two new types of 150/spl times/100 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ actuators have been fabricated thanks to a three-level polysilicon process. Remote powering is achieved by inductive coupling at 13.56 MHz. A simple analytical model for the inductive coupling is developed. A 24-/spl mu/m thick electroplated gold antenna has been optimized, then fabricated on an epoxy film in order to obtain a light component supported by the robot. Electronics for the transceiver and the robot control are also presented.