TITLE: DESIGN, MANUFACTURING, AND LOCOMOTION STUDIES OF A 1.27 GRAM AMBULATORY MICROROBOT

Asst. Prof. Dr. Onur Özcan, Bilkent University Mechanical Engineering Department

ABSTACT: Biological research over the past several decades has elucidated some of the mechanisms behind highly mobile, efficient, and robust locomotion in insects such as the cockroach. Roboticists have used this information to create biologically inspired machines capable of running, jumping, and climbing robustly over a variety of terrains. To date, little work has been done to develop an at-scale insect-inspired robot capable of similar feats, due to limitations in fabrication, actuation, and electronics integration at small scales. This talk addresses these challenges, focusing on the mechanical design and fabrication of a 1.27g walking robot, the Harvard Ambulatory MicroRobot (HAMR). The development of HAMR includes modeling and parameter selection for a two degree-of-freedom leg powertrain that enables locomotion. In addition, a design inspired by pop-up books that enables fast and repeatable assembly of the miniature robot is presented. Finally, a method to drive HAMR resulting in speeds up to 15 body lengths per second is presented, along with simple control schemes. We believe HAMR has the potential for use in hazardous environments, as well as being an ideal tool to investigate locomotion at the small scales.

BIO: Dr. Onur Özcan creates bio-inspired miniature ambulatory robots through research at the interface of mechanical engineering and robotics. He received his B.S. (2007) in Mechatronics Engineering at Sabancı University and his M.S. (2010) and Ph.D. (2012) in Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, where he worked on control and automation of tip-directed nanoscale fabrication. As a postdoctoral fellow, he conducted research on fabrication and control of miniature crawling robots at Harvard University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering from April 2012 to January 2015. Following his postdoctoral position, he joined Bilkent University Mechanical Engineering Department as an Assistant Professor in January 2015.