A flexible microrobot-based microassembly station

A wide range of microcomponents can today be produced using various microfabrication techniques. The assembly of complex microsystems consisting of several single components (i.e., hybrid microsystems) is, however, a difficult task that is seen to be a real challenge for the robotic research community. It is necessary to conceive flexible, highly precise and fast microassembly methods. In this paper, the development of a microrobot-based microassembly station is presented. Mobile piezoelectric microrobots with dimensions of some cm(3) and with at least 5 DOF can perform various manipulations either under a light microscope or within the vacuum chamber of a scanning electron microscope. The components of the station developed and its control system are described. The latter comprises a vision-based sensor system for automatic robot control, user interfaces, a re-configurable parallel computer array and an assembly planning system. Specific problems that occur when using microrobots in an SEM and our research activities on the development of force microsensors integrated into the microrobots' grippers are described as well.