A mobile microrobot driven by a new type of electromagnetic micromotor

Abstract

A mobile microrobot featured by a novel type of electromagnetic micromotor incorporated in two driving wheels is described. The overall dimensions of the microrobot are 10 mm/spl times/10 mm/spl times/10 mm. The microrobot was designed to participate in the 1995 Micro Robot Maze Contest in Nagoya, Japan, where it won the first prize. The microrobot consists of only few parts (9 in total) which were fabricated by precision machining and assembled manually. The two micromotors are based on the variable reluctance working principle and move step by step. They are driven by a sequence of current pulses and perform about 200 steps per revolution. Each micromotor generates a torque of 350/spl middot/10/sup -6/ Nm at each step and a maximum speed of about 180 rpm. The fly-by-wire system used allows the operator to control the microrobot which can move forward/backward and turn around itself. The microrobot has a maximum speed of 10 cm/s and can climb a slope of 15 degrees. The design, fabrication and characteristics of the microrobot and its components are described in detail.