A robust micro conveyer realized by arrayed polimide joint actuators

A new micro-robotic conveyance system based on arrays of movable robust sil icon legs has been developed and investigated. Motion is achieved by therma l expansion in polyimide joint actuators using electrical heating. Successf ul experiments on moving and rotating flat objects in the millimeter range have been performed with high load capacity. The conveyer consists of a 15 x 5 mm(2) chip having 12 silicon legs, each with a length of 500 mu m. The maximum load conveyed on the structure was 3500 mg. Both transverse and rot ational movements have been demonstrated experimentally. Conveyance velocit ies up to 12 mm s(-1) have been measured. Accelerated lifetime measurements demonstrate the long-term stability of the actuators. The functionality of the: polyimide joint actuators is unaffected after more than 2 x 10(8) loa d cycles.