Parametric Investigation of Laser-Driven Microrobot Maneuvrability on Dry Substrates

ChevBot is a novel microrobot for operation in dry environments driven by focused energy from a Nd:YAG laser. The microrobot operates using stick-slip locomotion by converting opto-thermal energy from the focused laser source into mechanical energy using “chevron-style” actuators. ChevBot’s body components are fabricated using Micro-Electro-Mechanical-System (MEMS) technology and completed using a microassembly process. In this paper, we investigate the effect of laser parameters such as pulse frequency, beam intensity and position to the maneuverability of the robot on planar substrates. The average microrobot forward speed could be varied between $1-134\mu m/s$ by sweeping the laser pulse frequency from 900-1500 Hz. Experiments also suggest that the average speed of the ChevBot can also be controlled by varying the number of pulses and laser drive current. Furthermore, the ChevBot could be steered in both the clockwise and counterclockwise directions by positioning the laser spot in various locations on the ChevBot’s microactuator.