.

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Light sailboats: Laser driven autonomous microrobots

Anrdás Búzás, Lóránd Kelemen, Anna Mathesz, László Oroszi, Gaszton Vizsnyiczai, Tamás Vicsek, and Pál Ormos
We introduce a system of light driven microscopic autonomous moving particles that move on a flat surface. The design is simple, yet effective: Micrometer sized objects with wedge shape are produced by photopolymerization, and they are covered with a reflective surface. When the area of motion is illuminated perpendicularly from above, the light is deflected to the side by the wedge shaped objects, in the direction determined by the position and orientation of the particles. The momentum change during reflection provides the driving force for an effectively autonomous motion. The system is an efficient tool to study self propelled microscopic robots.

DOI

No comments: