By harnessing the benefits of 3D printing at the microscale using two-photon polymerization, we are able to design and manufacture complex 3D linkage mechanisms at the small scale. Using 3D torsional electrostatic actuators and flexure-based linkage mechanisms, we have developed the microDelta, the smallest and fastest Delta robot ever built. We even downscaled the microDelta by a factor of 2 to study the benefits and practical limitations of the scaling laws in 3D microrobotic systems.

Picotaur, a 15.4 mg and 7.9 mm long hexapod robot, is capable of walking forward and backward, turning, climbing microscale stairs, and even delivering loads! This remarkable functionality was achieved by 3D-printing two degrees of freedom (2 DoF) leg mechanisms directly onto the flexible printed circuit board robot body. The integration of fast electrostatic actuation with the 2 DoF legs enabled Picotaur to achieve various gait patterns, resulting in versatile locomotion.

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Effectively utilizing thin-film NiTi shape memory alloy at the microscale presents a significant challenge due to the difficulty in applying a large strain on the thin films. In this work, we addressed this by integrating thin-film NiTi with magnetic springs, which allowed us to apply a large strain on NiTi. 3D printing with TPP enabled manufacturing of complex 3D structure for magnetic springs. By leveraging large force and high speed actuation, our actuator successfully demonstrated the ability to launch a grain of salt using an integrated microscale linkage mechanism.

Thin-film NiTi shape memory alloy actuators are capable of generating a large force at a relatively low voltage (~ 2 V). In this work, we have designed a flexure-based 4 bar linkage mechanism for an adaptive microgripper and actuated it with thin-film NiTi actuators. This allows each finger of the gripper to adapt to the shape of the objects it picks up, enabling it to grasp objects of various shapes.