Enhanced Automated Cell Micromanipulation via Programmable Magnetic Microgripper Design

Achieving efficient and robust grasping manipulation in microscopic scenarios is crucial for robotic applications. As a typical end-effector, the microgripper that can perform gripping-holding-releasing operations, plays an essential role in the area of micromanipulation. To facilitate the development of industrial microassembly and cell micromanipulation technologies, we propose a robotic microgripper (RM) with a two-finger structure based on magnetic programmable soft materials. First, we synthesize and characterize the magnetic programmable soft material, and fabricate the microfinger based on the soft material. The analytical model of the microgripper was developed using beam deformation theory and magnetic field modeling. By combining the deformation mechanism of flexible microfingers with visual feedback, we modeled the gripping force of the microgripper and proposed a feedback adaptive grasping strategy (FAGS). The cooperative control of two flexible microfingers via remote magnetic field actuation achieves the grasping of microobjects with various complex shapes and in different media. A micromanipulation robotic system was constructed by combining RM with a micromanipulation arm, enabling targeted grasping, transportation, and posture control of microobjects in complex scenarios. Note to Practitioners—The microgripper plays a pivotal role in advancing automated robotic cell micromanipulation and microassembly. This article is motivated to develop a microgripper based on soft programmable magnetic materials. The proposed microgripper features a straightforward structural design, which simplifies the manufacturing process. The actuation is implemented by visual feedback and controlled variations in magnetic field intensity. Compared to existing rigid microgrippers, soft microgrippers provide higher stability of contact with the object being manipulated. For cell manipulation, a robotic dexterous micromanipulation system is devised by integrating the RM onto a multi-degree-of-freedom micromanipulator arm, enabling precise operations such as grasping, releasing, transporting, and orientation control of zebrafish embryonic cells. In microassembly tasks, the microgripper demonstrates the ability to handle micro-parts of diverse shapes. The proposed microgripper holds substantial promise in advancing the automation of robotic cell micromanipulation and microassembly processes.