Mobile microrobots

Abstract

SUMMARY This paper discusses suitable mechanisms and functions of a mobile microrobot from the point of view ofscale effects. Several assumptions are made using animalscaling. A large scale model is shown to demonstrate these mechanisms. Moreover, microsized models have been built on silicon wafers by using polysilicon as rigidplates and polyimide as elastic joints. The results showthat suitable mechanisms and functions may be different from those of a conventional robot.