A Hybrid Force-Position Controller based Man-Machine Interface for Manipulation of Micro Objects

A hybrid force-position controller based man-machine interface for manipulation of micro objects through pushing with a micro cantilever is presented. Visual feedback is employed to detect position and orientation of a micro particle and a piezoresistive AFM cantilever is automatically positioned to align the line of action of interaction forces in a way that will ensure the particle to track a desired trajectory. Control of the interaction force is delegated to a human operator through scaled bilateral teleoperation. A custom tele-micromanipulation setup is built for testing and preliminary experiments of controlled pushing to achieve pure translational motion of rectangular micro objects are implemented.