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Robotics and 3D printing pave the way for future methodologies in many industries, but they can also be used for original artistic projects, including technological challenges. Imagine a film studio smaller than the size of your finger, an actor whose height is smaller than the thickness of your fingernail, and a camera using electrons instead of photons: these are the ingredients of the innovative film Stardust Odyssey. Several years of development were necessary to propose highprecision miniaturized robots able to position 3D-printed microfigurines in a scanning electronic microscope (SEM) to produce the film, which was released on 27 November 2019. This original film is available online [1]-[3]. The film, which pays tribute to David Bowie, holds the Guinness world record for the smallest 3D stop-motion animation character in the world [5]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The constant improvement of industrial needs to face modern telecommunication challenges leads to the development of novel transducer principles as alternatives to SAW and BAW solutions. The main technological limits of SAW (short-circuit between electrodes) and BAW (precise thickness control) solutions can be overcome by a new kind of transducer based on periodically poled ferroelectric substrate. The approach proposed in this paper exploits a ridge structure combined with a periodically poled transducer (PPT), allowing for the excitation of highly coupled modes unlike previously published results on planar PPTs. High-aspect-ratio ridges showing micrometer dimensions are achieved by dicing PPT plates with a diamond-tipped saw. An adapted metallization is achieved to excite acoustic modes exhibiting electromechanical coupling in excess of 15% with phase velocities up to 10 000 m?s?1. Theoretical predictions show that these figures may reach values up to 20% and 18 000 m?s?1, respectively, using an appropriate design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]