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Seminar: Micro-Scale Robots: Using Magnetic Fields for Remote Motion, Grasping and Formation, Dr. Eric Diller, Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto

Date
Date
Thursday 28 June 2018, 13.00 - 14.00
Location
Electrical Engineering Agilent LT (1.52)

Abstract:

Micro-scale mobile robots can physically access small spaces in a versatile and non-invasive manner. Such microrobots under several mm in size have potential unique applications for object manipulation, local sensing and cargo delivery in healthcare, microfluidics and advanced materials fabrication. These devices are powered and controlled remotely using externally-applied magnetic fields for motion in 2D and 3D. This talk will introduce our experimental work in a new type of field generation system using an array of permanent magnets, as well as use of magnetic field actuation for multi-agent formation control. Functional microrobots for swimming, crawling and grasping powered by these magnetic fields will be shown, along with our progress towards medical applications.

 

Brief Bio:

Dr. Eric Diller is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto. He received his B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University, and Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon University in 2013. His work is enabling a new approach to non-invasive medical procedures, micro-factories and scientific tools. He does this by shrinking the mechanical and electrical components of robots to centimeter, millimeter or even micrometer size. He uses magnetic fields and other smart-material actuation methods to make mobile functional devices. Dr. Diller envisions a future where drug delivery and surgery can be done in a fast, painless and focused way, and where new materials and devices can be manufactured using swarms of tiny gripping, cutting, and sensing wireless robots. Dr. Diller has received the MIE Early Career Teaching Award, the UofT Connaught New Researcher Award, the Ontario Early Researcher Award, and the I.W. Smith Award from the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineers.