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The compliance of continuum robot poses difficulty in designing the controller, as the robot does not have position encoder and could be subject to uncertain external force (UEF). The former can be resolved through external sensors, while the latter issue still needs further investigation. This article presents a novel robot design that embeds eGaIn sensors into the soft material, and the elongation in the robot chamber can lead to different changes in resistance values. The sensors act as a proprioceptive mechanism to sense the presence of the UEF. To locate the UEF, the robot surface is divided into multiple regions, and the column and row positions with the force can be solved using Hidden Markov Model and regularization algorithm. Through the virtual work principle, the force magnitude can be also evaluated. Experimental results confirm that, with possible four columns and five rows, the accuracy of finding the actual column and row positions are, respectively, $ 97\%$ and $ 98.5\%$. The mean error in evaluating the tip position and the force magnitude is about $ \text{4}\;\text{mm}$ and $ \text{0.23}\;\text{N}$. This article offers a new approach to obtain the information of the UEF, allowing continuum robots to work in a constrained environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a system of automatic microparticle patterning that could enable the separation, trapping, and translation of single microbeads in liquid suspension using negative dielectrophoresis (DEP) tweezers was presented to form a single-bead pattern. A microchip with integrated electrodes was flipped and placed above the substrate through a micromanipulator. Microparticles laying on the substrate could be displaced to different positions relative to the electrodes on the microchip, and only the selected particles would be trapped by the electric fields generated from electrodes. Vision-based approaches were used to evaluate the necessary information, such as the gap distance and the positions of electrodes and microparticles in the image. A strategy for separating nearby particles was proposed to achieve single-bead patterning with high accuracy. A controller was used to guide the microparticles toward the position for trapping while avoiding flow disturbance. Different strategies were simulated to decrease the patterning time and find the minimum traveling distance and the best route of movement. The optimization problem is NP-hard. Hence, global optimization algorithms, such as genetic algorithm, particle swarm optimization, and ant colony optimization (ACO), were simulated, and the results were compared with those of the local optimization method. The comparison results showed that ACO obtained the best performance among the methods. The strategy for constructing high-quality microparticle patterns was also examined through experiments. Orange fluorescent polystyrene beads suspended in 6-aminohexanoic acid solution were considered and successfully patterned on a glass substrate by using the proposed system. Note to Practitioners—Micropatterning is an effective tool for pharmaceutical research and drug discovery. However, the reliability of results depends on the quality of patterns. Existing approaches, such as microfluidic devices, are limited to create a pattern from one chip for single use, and the entire process is sealed and isolated from the environment. In this study, a multielectrode microchip combined with a vision-based micromanipulator is introduced to create a novel noncontact approach for microparticle patterning, which offers high flexibility and guarantees the quality of the constructed patterns. The electrodes on the chip can be selectively energized to determine the shape of the final pattern. A real-time screening is performed so that the micromanipulator will only guide the particles in good condition for selection. An optimization algorithm is implemented to aid the particle selection with the electrodes, allowing high-quality microparticle patterns to be constructed in a short time for various applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Embryo manipulation is a fundamental task in assisted reproductive technology (ART). Nevertheless, conventional pick-place techniques often require proper alignment to avoid causing damage to the embryo and further, the tools have limited capability to orient the embryo being handled. Objective: This paper presents a novel and non-invasive technique that can easily manipulate mouse embryos on a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) Petri dish. Methods: An inverted microchip with quadrupole electrodes was attached to a micromanipulator to become a robotic dielectrophoresis (DEP) tweezers, and a motorized platform provided additional mobility to the embryos lying on a Petri dish. Vision-based algorithms were developed to evaluate relevant information of the embryos from the image, and to provide feedback signals for precise position and orientation control of the embryo. Results: A series of experiments was conducted to examine the system performance, and the embryo can be successfully manipulated to a specified location with the desired orientation for subsequent processing. Conclusion: This system offers a non-contact, low cost, and flexible method for rapid cell handling. Significance: As the DEP tweezers can grasp the embryo without the need for precise alignment, the overall time required to process a large number of embryos can be shortened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]